Sunscreen Saved My Life
by Verb
Summary: Years ago, my Calculus teacher claimed that, some day, math would save my life. I though she was wrong. Little did I know just how much. COMPLETE.
1. Snore Inducing

**TITLE:** Sunscreen Saved My Life

**AUTHOR**: Verb

**RATING:** T, for some "minor suggestive adult themes" and a little (strike that) a lot of UST. Do you know how long it took me to figure out what UST meant? It's embarrassing. And I still don't know what PWP means.

**CATEGORY:** Mostly humour, with a little romance of the above mentioned UST variety

**SUMMARY: **Years ago, my Calculus teacher claimed that, some day, math would save my life. I though she was wrong. Little did I know just how much.

**DISCLAIMER:** All publicly recognizable Stargate SG-1 characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment only and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was or are intended. This story and other publicly unrecognized events or characters therein are copyrighted to the author and may not be used or reproduced in entirety or in parts without express permission of the author.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hey everybody, long time no see! Thanks for sticking around and seeing what's new. I just want to thank you guys for all the great reviews and positive feedback I got from my last story, Dinner & Dessert. So much so, that I decided to write a prequel of sorts, kind of a "What _did_ happen on that off world mission?" It would probably help for you to read that other story first, but I don't think it's required. Either way, I hope you enjoy this one – and feel free to drop me a review with some comments.

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_**Chapter 1 - Snore Inducing**_

"Welcome back, SG1."

Dr. Elizabeth Weir allowed herself a small smile as she greeted the SGC's premier team in much the same way her predecessor had. She stood at the bottom of the gate ramp, happy to see that this time around, no one had been injured.

"Thanks, Doctor. Good to be back." Colonel, soon to be Brigadier General Jack, O'Neill said as he passed off his weapon to one of the waiting airman. "Most boring planet we've been on in a while."

"That's not true, Jack!" Daniel cut in.

"Well, ok, not for the science geeks it wasn't boring," Jack agreed. "But there are only so many times Teal'c and I can secure our camp site before we get really bored."

Samantha Carter gave her CO a look. "Actually, sir, the area was surprising rich in-"

"Why don't we save the details for the debriefing?" Dr. Weir interrupted what she knew had the potential to be a very long winded answer. "I'll meet you all upstairs in an hour."

"Yes Ma'm." Chorused Sam and Jack.

"Elizabeth!" Weir called out behind her as she made her way back to the control room.

"I'm never going to be able to call her that." Jack said as he led his team down the gate ramp.

"You know, sir, you and Teal'c could have helped me with the soil analysis instead of being so bored," Carter pointed out as the four of them walked out of the gate room towards the elevators.

"I doubt very much that we would have been of any assistance, MajorCarter," Teal'c spoke as he strode down the corridor.

"Yeah, considering those 'soil samples' were actually 'sand samples'." Jack unconsciously brushed off his uniform as if sweeping for stray sand particles stuck to his uniform. "Besides, I can't tell my core samples from my meteorites."

Sam smiled as she swiped her access card when they arrived at the elevator. "Still, it would have been more helpful than playing 'Hide the rock from the archeologist' for hours on end, sir." Upon entering the elevator, she punched the button for level 25 then turned around, expecting Daniel to jump in with a comment. Instead, she found a very pensive look on his face, his eyes downcast and glued to the floor as the elevator moved. "Daniel?"

Daniel's head snapped up, and he gave Sam an apologetic smile. "Sorry. What?"

"You ok? You looked a little lost there."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," he reassured her. "Just making a list of the books I'm going to need if I'm right about the language we found. It's probably an Ancient derivative, but from what I could copy down I'm fairly sure it's got some roots it what looks like an older form of-"

"Ack!" Jack cut him off as the elevator jolted to a stop and the doors opened. "Save it for the debrief, ok? Shower's first, technobabble later."

Daniel rolled his eyes as they stepped into the corridors of level 25. "Well, I think I'm going to need some help on this one. Anyone know if SG-14 is still off world?"

"I believe they are scheduled to return in approximately two hours," Teal'c replied.

Sam shot her friend a puzzled look. "SG-14? But they're a Marine unit. Why would you-" The rest of her sentence cut off as a moment of clarity hit. "Wait, doesn't Dr. Webber serve as their linguist and archeologist?"

Daniel tried to sound impassive. "Yeah, she does."

Jack held up his hand as if asking permission to speak. "Dr. Webber? That cryptographer you hired a few months ago?"

Daniel shrugged in an attempt to distract the other from noticing the blush rapidly creeping up his skin. It didn't work. "Yeah, she has an office on the same level as the rest of my department."

"Wait," Sam turned to face Jack. "Wasn't she the one who gave that slideshow presentation when you insisted on interviewing her?"

Jack snapped his finger. "Yeah! Something about all her stuff being in Colorado already."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, Abbie Webber. She's really nice. Smart too – she's been having lunch with Janet and me since she started working here."

"I too have shared lunch with AbbieWebber," Teal'c added. "She was greatly concerned about her ability to assist your department, DanielJackson."

"Really?" Daniel's eyes grew a bit wide, surprised to learn one of his best staff members had reservations about her work. "She never mentioned that."

"Probably because she didn't want her boss to know that she was nervous about being able to do her job," Sam pointed out. "She still worries about being a liability on off world missions when she goes to collect archeological data."

Daniel processed this new bit of information. Abbie had been nothing short of brilliant in the months since she had been hired to be his second in command, so to speak. She ran the linguistics department when he wasn't able to do so, and was an amazing cryptographer and archeologist in her own right. Her work with a language SG-14 had encountered on a planet had proved invaluable while Daniel had been working with the tablet SG-2 had found on P3X-439.

In fact, she was the only civilian that SG-14 would allow off world with them. Major Anthony Torres lead SG-14, the toughest group of Marines the SGC had ever seen. It had taken almost two years to convince Torres to let a civilian on the team, let alone a female archeologist who's sole mission it was to poke around for signs of civilization, past and present. But Torres and the rest of his team had developed a bit of a soft spot for Abbie, whom they affectionately referred to as 'Nash', and had requested that she become their official off world archeologist. Daniel couldn't believe that Abbie felt she put her fellow teammates in danger. "She can't believe that."

Teal'c inclined his head. "It is true, DanielJackson. It is probably similar to the feelings you expressed in our earlier ventures as a team."

"Although you have to admit, asking Kershaw which end the bullets go in was pretty funny." Jack grinned. "So, any particular reason you need Dr. Webber's help and not, say, Dr. Swanson's?"

"Uh, well, you know . . ." Daniel mumbled around his words a little under the intense scrutiny of Sam's gaze. "She's a walking Latin dictionary and it would be helpful for someone to go over my work."

"Plus," Jack added with an air of feigned innocence. "If I remember correctly, she's also really hot."

Teal'c looked over at the young archeologist. "It would appear that is the case, O'Neill."

"Knew it!" Jack slapped a now flushed Daniel on the back. "You sly dog – trying to score some quality time with a good looking woman on the pretense of work. I've taught you well."

"It's not like that, Jack." Daniel tried to sound as convincing as possible. "Dr. Webber is incredibly good at what she does, and since I know you'd rather not be dragged back to P3X-459, she can help me with the translation I brought back so you won't have to."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Maybe Dr. Weir will let you and Abbie go back to '459 and check out that temple that we didn't have time to explore."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Daniel admitted. Though which he found more appealing, the going back to the planet for more research or the spending more time with Abbie, he couldn't say for sure.

"Well, either way, I'm sneaking a Gameboy in my pack if we end up there again," Jack announced. "But all in good time. Shower first, then briefing, and then boredom." The four teammates stopped in front of the locker rooms.

"Come on, Jack," Daniel rolled his eyes. "It's not like you pay much attention anyway. You're usually too busy doodling."

"I am not!" Jack declared in mock outrage. "I find your debriefings very . . ."

"Fascinating?" Sam supplied helpfully.

"Snore inducing." And with that, he disappeared into the men's locker room.

"Do not worry, DanielJackson." Teal'c paused before entering the change area. "I will ensure his attention remains on the task at hand."

"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel grinned at the Jaffa. "Though I'm not sure that'll do any good." He turned to Sam. "Think you could meet me in my office before the briefing? I've got some partial translations I may need your help with."

"Sure." She pulled open the door to the women's locker room. "Meet you there in 15 minutes?"

Daniel nodded. "15 minutes." Sam gave him one last smile as she disappeared into the change room.

**A/N** It's probably important for me to mention that this story is supposed to take place in that bit of time where Weir was still in charged of the SGC, before she goes to the Ancient outpost in Antarctica and when Jack takes command as a General. I know that time was kind of glossed over in the show, but for my purposes it took some time. The bureaucracy moves a lot slower then you'd think!


	2. Academic Mission

_**Chapter 2 - Academic Mission**_

"The basic structure of the language we found on P3X-459 appears to be rooted in a mix of Ancient and an old world Latin derivative that we've seen before." Daniel used the remote in his hand to advance the projection in the briefing room. He stood at the front of the darkened room, presenting his findings to Dr. Weir and the rest of SG-1 who were seated around the table. An image of a box shaped artifact appeared on the screen beside him. "The device that Dr. Lee and I recovered in Central America has markings similar to that of the ones I found on the posts surrounding the Stargate."

"How is that possible?" Dr. Weir asked.

"That's a good question." Daniel hit a button on the remote, causing the image on the screen to split in half. "We know that the object we found was an Ancient healing device, used by Telchak to create the first sarcophagus. The writing on the device is in Ancient, and as far as I can tell, it's a warning about abusing the 'Power of The Gods' " He pointed to the left side of the screen. "Right there. The text on the posts from '459 are also written in Ancient, but with an added twist." He pointed to the screen on the right.

"It looks almost Latin." Dr Weir said as she squined at the projection.

"That would be because it is." He hit another button on the remote and focused in on right side of the screen. "Now, I originally though that the warning on the healing device was a caution about abusing the powers of the sarcophagus, leading to, as we all know, the user's general loss on the grip of reality."

"Can you say understatement?" Jack remembered well the ordeal Daniel had suffered during his own battle with his addiction to the sarcophagus.

"Ah, yes." Daniel allowed a small smile to flit across his face. "Well, the point is that while I was right about the warning, I was wrong about what it was warning agaist." He turned back to the screen and indicated a particular passage. "This part here is from '459, and if my translations so far are correct, it also makes a mention of the 'Power of the Gods'. However, the reference on the posts are not talking about a sarcophagus."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow, the closest he got to expressing surprise. "To what does it refer?"

Daniel shared a look with Sam. "We think it might be a ZPM."

Dr. Weir mirrored Teal'c as one of her eyebrows headed for her hairline. "A what?"

"A ZPM." Sam repeated. "It stands for zero point module. It's the term we've been using for the power source Colonel O'Neill found in the outpost on Proclarush Taonas. We're still not entirly sure how it works, but Dr. McKay has been working on it."

"Yes, I noticed his name was on the list of civilian scientist leaving for the outpost in Antarctica." Dr. Weir had recieved the assignments the day before in anticipation of her offical removal from the command of the SGC and her transfer to the Ancient outpost.

Sam couldn't hold back her grin. _Couldn't be much farther then Russia, I guess._

"The point is that another ZPM could be very useful. We're still unsure how much power remains in the one we still have, and a second one could power the outpost's defenses in the event that the Goa'uld attack Earth again," Daniel explained. "And these writings seem to indicate one is on that planet." He paused. "However, I have yet to go over all of the text – we had to gate back before I could make my way over to a structure a few miles from the gate."

"And you think that whatever that text reveals may led us to a working ZPM?"

Sam nodded at Dr. Weir's question. "The writings Daniel was able to translate mentioned instructions for some kind of power source, and from what I can tell it looks very similar to the information we gained when the Colonel had the Ancients' repository downloaded into his mind."

"Ah, yes." Jack spoke up. "Good times."

Daniel smiled at Jack's words. "Yes, well, regardless, I think it would be best if we returned to P3X-459 and spent some more time with the text in that structure."

Dr. Weir nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper from the file sitting on the table in front of her. "I received your request for an academic mission, Daniel, as well as your request that Dr. Abbie Webber accompany you."

"Yes, she's the only other person on this base with an extensive background in Latin dialects, as well as a working knowledge of Ancient," Daniel pointed out. "Her assistance could prove invaluable."

"I agree." Dr. Weir pushed her chair back from the desk as Teal'c flipped the lights back on. "I've already requested that Dr. Webber report to you once SG-14 is cleared by the infirmary. She will accompany you and the rest of SG-1 to P3X-459 at 1400 hours tomorrow."

"Uh, Ma – Elizabeth?" Jack corrected himself. "Not to be a drag here, but is it really necessary for the _entire_ team to go along? I mean, wouldn't it be better if . . . " He let his sentence fade out after catching her gaze. "Nevermind."

Dr. Weir let out a slight chuckle as she stood from her chair. "I know it wasn't the most exciting planet, Colonel, but think of this as an easy mission to carry out before you're the base commander. I doubt you'll have much time for off world excursions after that. Tomorrow, 1400." She nodded at them and strode into her office, closing the door behind her.

"Well," Jack said as he smacked his hands on the table in front of him, "sounds like Daniel's going to take us on his little field trip."

"It won't be so bad, Colonel," Sam reassured him. "Besides, Weir's right – it will be a nice, easy mission to spend time on before your promotion."

Jack sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. I will say it's a good thing this planet's uninhabited – it'll be nice not to get shot at for once."

"You should not worry, O'Neill." Teal'c spoke up. "There is still some time to dodge man made projectiles before you must adhere yourself to your designated writing space."

Daniel failed to hold back a snort. "You mean chain himself to his desk?"

Teal'c allowed a small smile to appear on his face and inclined his head.

Jack eyed the Jaffa suspiciously. "I can't tell if he's joking or not anymore."

Sam grinned as she stood up from her seat. "Either way, we have a 'mission' to prepare for."

"Yeah, sorry about that guys," Daniel apologized as he collected his papers off the briefing room table. "I originally asked that SG-14 accompany us, but I guess Elizabeth decided to send you guys along for the ride."

"S'ok, Daniel." Jack stood and joined Carter by the door. "A nice, easy mission to an uninhabited planet. Could be fun."

Teal'c nodded and got up to stand beside his teammates. "I shall procure a Frisbee for our amusement tomorrow, O'Neill."

"Sweet." Jack's voice could be heard as the three friends walked down the hall. "Think I could convince Weir to let me bring my golf gear?"

Daniel shook his head as he shuffled together the rest of his papers. _Could be worse – could be a water planet. Jack would have wanted to bring his fishing gear._

"Oh. Crap."

The soft voice jarred Daniel from his thoughts. His head snapped up in an attempt to locate the source of the suspiciously familiar voice. There in the doorway stood a worn out Dr. Abbie Webber, still in her off world BDU's. His lips formed an involuntary smile. "Hi, Abbie."

"Dr. Jackson." Abbie sounded out of breath. "I'm glad I found you. You weren't in your office so I figured you'd be briefing Dr. Weir. Did I miss it?"

"I'm afraid you did, we just finished. And it's Daniel," he reminded her.

Despite her obvious exhaustion, Abbie managed a smile. "I know, sorry. Can't help it." She walked into the room and gestured to the file he was holding. "Are those your notes on the language from P3X-459?"

He nodded and moved to meet her in the middle of the room, handing her the folder. "This was all I was able to get, but it looks like-"

"It might be similar to the language you and Bill found on that Ancient healing device," Abbie finished his sentence as she looked over his notes. "Well, it certainly looks that way. Is that . . . Ancient crossed with Latin?"

"For the most part." Daniel moved a little closer to her, pointing out a certain passage. "See that? It looks right, but my translations so far have hit a dead end. I had copies sent to your office so that you can have a crack at it before we head out tomorrow."

"Yeah, I stopped by my office on my way to find you." Abbie was trying to ignore the faint tingles traveling up her spine that had started when Daniel had moved to stand in her personal space. "Did Weir approve the mission?"

"She did," Daniel confirmed. "We're scheduled to leave at 1400 tomorrow." He grinned and gave her a once over. "You should have plenty of time to change by then."

Abbie stared at him, confused until realization hit. "Oh! Yeah." She looked down and took a survey of her outfit. She was still wearing her off world uniform. "I went straight from the infirmary after we got back to my office. Haven't had time to change yet."

Daniel chucked. "No problem. They look good on you."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Abbie wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. Thankfully, Daniel saved her the trouble.

"So, tomorrow you will be joining me and the rest of SG-1 on a trip to P3X-459. Figure we'll spend some time in a structure we could see from the 'gate but didn't have time to explore."

She nodded. "Sounds good. I think I'll work on that translation before I head home. See if I can figure it out before we leave." She handed the folder back to him.

"Ok, but promise me you'll get some sleep." Daniel couldn't hide the protective tone that had creep into his voice. "You look like you need it."

Abbie gave a small laugh. "Yeah, it's been a long day. Had to keep reminding Torres that, unlike he and his team, the rest of the world isn't able to do a three mile hike while wearing full gear through the desert, then be expected to drop and give him twenty."

Daniel let out a laugh of his own. "Yes, well, he tends to do that. How was P4X-295?"

Abbie snorted. "Great. I spend half the day keeping Lt. Foley out of my sample collecting kit, and the other half making sure I didn't die of heat stroke."

Daniel winced, having spend his fare share of time on desert planets and knowing how it could play havoc with someone as fair skinned as Abbie. _Although, it did make her freckles stand out more than usual._ Daniel shook his head slightly, trying no to let his mind go there. "Well, get some rest and ask Janet for some cream, she's got some really great stuff for sunburns."

"The stuff in the little blue tube?" Abbie asked. At Daniel's nod, she dug into her pocket and produced the tube. "Oh yeah, already got myself some – Janet practically threatened to bathe me in it if I didn't remember to wear sunscreen the next time." She eyed the tube suspiciously. "Please tell me P3X-459 is a forest planet."

Daniel smiled. "Nope, sorry. Desert."

"Figures." She sighed and placed the cream back in her pocket. "Well, maybe I could get Teal'c to lend me one of his hats. I can never seem to get enough sunscreen on the back of my neck."

Daniel had to swallow his instinctive response to her last words, knowing that telling her he'd be more than willing to take over sunscreen duty for any part of her body was not exactly professional. _Yes, very smooth Jackson._ "I'm sure Teal'c wouldn't mind. I can ask him for you."

"Thanks. That would be great." Abbie stood still for a moment, unsure how the conversation had managed to get so awkward so quickly. "Well, uh, I'll go and get changed and the take a look at those translations for you."

"I'll walk you to the elevator. I'm headed down to my office anyway." Daniel grabbed his cup of coffee off the briefing room table and walked over to the door. He moved his hand in a sweeping gesture. "After you."

She gave him and amused smile as she slipped past him into the hallway. "Thanks." She tried not to let the smile wavier as it dawned on her that the gentle pressure she felt on her lower back was his hand. _Breathe, Webber._

"If you have any questions about the translation, just let me know. I'll be on base for the night, so anytime you need to drop by, feel free."

Abbie nodded and tried to regain the use of her voice. "I'll keep that in mind." She looked up and gave him what she hoped was a confidant smile. He returned the grin, then focused his eyes in front of him to navigate the corridor, but kept his hand in place. Abbie heaved an internal sigh._ It's going to be a long mission._

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**A/N** So thanks to everyone for letting me know what PWP is, even if we have a few versions. I should have known Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea would be the first to answer – she's the beta so she has to know stuff like that! And thanks so much for the reviews – I really love hearing that you guys are enjoying the story. 


	3. The Hat

_**Chapter 3 – The Hat**_

"You have _got_ to be kidding."

Abbie whipped around from where she stood in front of one of the mirrors in the women's locker room, the voice having caught her off guard. "What?"

Sam strode into the room in full desert gear, aiming for her locker. "You're not wearing that hideous thing off world, are you?"

"You bet I am," Abbie chuckled as she adjusted the hat currently perched on top of her head. When she had arrived at the mountain that morning, she had entered her office to find a large box and a note sitting on her desk. The note was from Daniel, explaining that the box contained a hat Teal'c felt would be 'most suitable' for their off world excursion. Opening the box, she had found the strangest, and quite possibly the ugliest hat she had ever seen in her entire life. Blindingly blue felt with a series of neon green stripes, complete with matching sparkly green glitter, Abbie sure it was the only other object NASA could see from space, apart from the beam at the top of the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. But, it had an extra wide brim that surrounded the entire hat, and it would cover her neck and protect it from the harsh sun. "It's dorky as all hell, but it'll keep me from getting sun burnt."

Same pulled our her regulation sandy brown baseball cap from her locker and shut the door, turning to lean on it as she took in the sight of her friend trying in vain to adjust the brilliantly bright monster of a hat. "Couldn't you have just borrowed one of Daniel's bonnie things? Those seem to work pretty well."

Abbie let her hands drop to hang at her sides in a sign of defeat. "I didn't even think of that."

"Well, we could run to the supply closet and grab one for you."

A quick glance at her watch confirmed what Abbie had feared. "We don't have time, it's already 13:50. Besides, I'll look dorky in any hat, regardless of what colour it is. Might as well wear this one since Teal'c went through the trouble of picking it out for me."

Sam chuckled as she pushed herself away from her locker. "Let it never be said he doesn't have a sense of humour."

"True." Abbie took one last look in the mirror and tugged on a corner of the hat. "Well, this is as good as it's going to get."

Sam gestured to the door. "Then let's go."

Abbie nodded and grabbed her pack up off the floor. "It figures. My first mission with SG-1, and I look like an amusement park reject."

Sam gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, I doubt that Daniel cares what you're wearing. He just likes it when you're there."

"What do you- OW!" Abbie had been caught off guard by Sam's statement – so much so that she bumped into Siler, knocking the hat clear off her head.

"Oh, sorry Dr. Webber," Siler said as he reached down to pick up her hat, staring at it in confusion. "I somehow managed not to see you there."

Abbie shook her head. "Oh, no Siler, my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." She shot a death glare in Sam's direction. "Thank you," she said as she took the hat from his outstretched hand.

"No problem." He gave them a smile and continued on his way down the hall.

"Interesting." Sam laughed as the two started walking again.

"Oh, now what?"

"Nothing." Sam gave Abbie a grin. "It's just interesting to know that just mentioning Daniel causes all of your basic brain functions to freeze. Could be useful."

Abbie attempted a denial. "No, I'm just really nervous about this mission, that's all."

"Uh huh." Sam sounded unconvinced. "Do you really think that Janet and I don't know that when you claim to be nervous about a mission or worried about some difficult translation, that you're actually talking about Daniel?"

"Am not."

"Are too," Sam teased. "You have the hots for your boss. Admit it."

_Crap. _Abbie remained silent, knowing nothing she could say would change her friend's mind.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Sam said as she watched a red flush creep over Abbie's face. "It's ok – we think it's nice."

"Oh, thanks," Abbie said as sarcastically as possible. "So glad to hear that my two supposed friends find my internal conflict so . . ." She struggled to find the right work.

"Cute?" Sam supplied.

Abbie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just . . . keep that bit of information to yourself, ok? I don't want Daniel to know, let alone the entire base."

Sam simply smiled as the entered the gate room. _Oh honey, Daniel may not know, but the rest of the base is nowhere near as clueless._

"Ladies, _so_ glad you could join us." Jack called from where he, Daniel, and Teal'c were standing shoulder to shoulder at the base of the gate ramp.

"Sorry, Colonel. We experienced some-" Sam paused. "Wardrobe difficulties."

Jack looked puzzled until he caught sight of Abbie's hat. "Yes, I can see that."

Teal'c leaned back slightly to get a better look at Abbie. "That hat suits you, AbbieWebber."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Nice pimp hat."

"Thanks." Abbie walked over to stand beside Daniel, pretending not to notice his stare and instead focused on watching the gate go through the dialing sequence.

"Chevron four encoded."

Daniel fought the bubble of laughter he had felt when Sam and Abbie had walked into the gate room. But that internal laughter had quickly changed into a quiet admiration. No one, not even Teal'c, could get away with wearing that bright blue and green creation, but somehow Abbie managed to pull it off as just this side of hideous. It didn't surprise him. _She could wear a tea cozy on her head and still manage to look good._

"Chevron five encoded."

The gate tech's voice jolted Daniel out of his thoughts to focus on the present. He chanced a look at Abbie and gently touched her arm to get her attention. He spoke when she turned to look at him. "Have any luck with the rest of the translation?"

"Some," Abbie answered as she slipped on a pair of sunglasses. "I think that the passage was intentionally written out of order. I managed to rearrange it and it looked remarkably like some sort of access code." She patted her front pocket. "I brought it with me."

"Great." Daniel said then stopped and eyed the hat, unsure if he could make a comment about her unusual attire.

"Chevron six encoded."

Abbie could tell Daniel wanted to say something. She finally couldn't just keep watching that adorably pensive look on his face any longer. "What?"

He gave a small smile, realizing she had just given him permission. "I was just thinking that if I had known Teal'c was going to give you a hat like that, I would have lent you one of mine."

Abbie smiled back. "That's really sweet of you. But this one's kind of grown on me. Besides," she paused to adjust the hat, "If I get lost, you'll have no problem finding me."

"That's true," Daniel let out a laugh.

"Chevron seven locked."

The room exploded in a wash of blue light as the Stargate engaged. Jack looked up into the control room, and waited for Weir to give them the go ahead.

"Good luck SG-1. Radio contact in 12 hours."

Jack gave her a nod and turned to his team. "Let's get going, kids." He watched as Teal'c and Sam, and then Daniel and Abbie disappeared into the event horizon. With one last look to the control room, he gave Weir a salute and stepped through.

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**A/N** As usual, reviewing is wonderful, and all reviews will be given a big hug and a cookie. Thanks to all thoses who have left their thoughts. 


	4. Blinking Things

_**Chapter 4 – Blinking Things**_

Jack surveyed the landscape of P3X-459. _Why does it always have to be sand?_ He sighed and adjusted his sunglasses, watching his footing as he made his way down the steps from the gate. "So campers, what are we looking at here?"

Teal'c and Sam shrugged from their place to Jack's right, so he instead directs his gaze at the two archeologists sharing a sheet of paper and gesturing out towards the desert. "Daniel? Dr. Webber?"

"Uh, yeah, I think first we should head over to the temple," Daniel said as Abbie folded the piece of paper and placed it back in her pocket. "Abbie and I will probably need to get some video if there's any more of this language over there."

"Ok then. Carter, up here with me, Danny, you stick with Dr. Webber, and Teal'c will cover our six."

The group carried out Jack's orders and made their way to the alien structure, following Daniel's caution not to get too close to the entrance until they knew what they were dealing with. The structure itself resembled a large dome, built out of what appeared to be layers of a soft grey brick-like material that reminded Abbie very much of the Sky Dome. They walked a quick circle around the structure, easily locating the entranced marked by two more posts similar to those found at the base of the Stargate, stationed on either side of what looked like a doorway.

Daniel removed his pack and placed it on the ground in front of the entrance, then approached one of the posts. "Abbie, could I see that translation again."

"Sure." Abbie removed the paper from her pocket, unfolded it and handed it to him.

Daniel spent a few minutes comparing the text on the post with the translation on the page. "Ok, looks like you were right, Abbie. Apparently, to gain entrance to the Power of the Gods, we have to solve the riddle that's on the posts near the gate and input the correct sequence of symbols over here." He pointed to the post on the other side.

"Uhh, 'Power of the Gods'?" Jack questions.

"Told you you didn't pay attention to my briefings." Daniel stated from where he was standing, his nose almost touching the sheet of paper he still held.

"We're still clinging to the 'It's a ZedPM' theory," Abbie answered.

"ZedPM?" Sam asked. "What, are you channeling McKay now?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Abbie shrugged. "It's a Canadian thing."

"I'm sorry." Jack shifted the weapon in his hand and adjusted his stance. "So, we know how to open this thing?"

"I think so." Daniel dug through his pack and pulled out a book with a well-worn green cover. "Abbie's rearrangement of my translation should work. I just wanted to double check that I'm reading this correctly, wouldn't want to put in the wrong code."

"That would be problematic, DanielJackson," Teal'c agreed. "Utilize as much time as you require."

"Thanks." Daniel sat down in the sand directly in front of the post and set the open book on his lap.

"So, who's ready for a game of Frisbee?" Jack asked.

Abbie laughed and grabbed hold of Teal'c's arm. "Only if Teal'c is on my team. He'd be the only one tall enough to catch my throws."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir," Sam joined in. "From what Abbie tells me, she's a Frisbee pro from a long time ago."

Abbie nodded. "Yep. We used to play in New York during session breaks at the UN. Would you believe we even had neutral blue official UN Frisbees?"

Jack snorted. "I'd believe almost anything from a bunch of bureaucrats."

"Ok, guys!" Daniel called out. "I think I've got it." He stood up and brushed sand off of his clothes. "Abbie, I could use your help if you want to put in the symbols."

"Sure – but if I unleash the evils of this world on us by doing so, promise you won't hold it against me." Abbie joked.

"We've forgiven Daniel, what is it, three times?" Jack asked.

"I believe it is four, O'Neill," agreed Teal'c.

"Yeah, four. So, what the hell."

"Ok then." She moved over to where Daniel stood and dropped her pack on the ground. "What's the sequence?"

Daniel read off a succession of twelve symbols, and Abbie careful pressed in the corresponding buttons on her post, each of them lighting up as she pressed them. As she entered the final symbol, the ground gave a slight shake and the doorway to the building opened.

Jack immediately switched into alert mode, signaling for Carter and Teal'c to follow him and do a quick sweep of the inside of the structure and indicating that Daniel and Abbie should remain outside.

Daniel noticed the disappointed look that ran across Abbie's face as she deciphered Jack's orders. He leaned over to speak quietly in her ear. "He just wants to make sure it's safe, that's all."

Abbie gave a slight nod. "I know. It's just that-"

"You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, I know." Daniel shoved his books into his pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Jack can't help it – he's under strict orders not to get you killed."

Abbie managed to look stunned and confused. "From who?"

"One Major Anthony Torres." Daniel smiled as realization dawned on her face. "Apparently, he had a little talk with Jack about the well being of 'his' archeologist."

Abbie rolled her eyes as she picked up her own backpack. "Remind me to have a little talk of my own when we get back."

Daniel held back a grin. The last time she had talked to Torres about making requests for her safety, he had most certainly gotten the message. So had everyone in the commissary. Four floors down.

Jack poked his head out and looked at the two archeologists. "You kids want to get in here? Coast's clear and there are a lot of . . . blinking things."

Abbie and Daniel looked at each other, then turned to look at Jack. "Blinking's good," they said in unison.

"Then come on in." Jack turned to lead the way.

* * *

**A/N** I'm finally finished school for the year! Yay! I hope this means updates will be occuring more often - I'll do the best I can to update every week or so. And thanks everyone for the reviews - they're wonderful. 


	5. Couches & Cup Holders

**_Chapter 5 – Couches & Cup Holders_**

As Abbie stepped into the structure and pulled off her hat, her first thought was that the outside appearance did nothing for the inside. Following Daniel's lead, she took in the room, walking in a small semi-circle around the interior. Her second thought was more along the lines of wondering if all the Ancients shared the same interior designer. A blue steel-like material lined the walls, reflecting the constantly blinking lights on consoles scattered around the room.

"Don't touch that!"

Daniel's voice filtered through Abbie's thoughts and she turned just in time to see Jack pull his hand away from the wall. She walked over to take a look. "Daniel, is that-?"

Daniel nodded. "Ancient? Yes." He gently pushed Jack out of the way to stand shoulder to shoulder with Abbie. He reached out and gently ran his fingers over the symbols, mouthing the translation as he read.

"Ok, so why does he get to touch it and I don't?" Jack complained.

"Well, sir, you do have a tendency to break things," Sam pointed out.

Jack tried to look indignant. "Do not."

"It is true, O'Neill," Teal'c said as he walked from his position at the dome's entrance. "I believe you still owe DanielJackson three pairs of his eyesight enhancing glass circles."

Abbie let out a small laugh. "Three? And I thought I was bad."

Jack pulled off his hat and used it to point at Abbie. "You too?"

Abbie rolled her eyes and smiled at the distracted archeologist at her side. "I've been at the receiving end of a few glass shards in my rear."

"That's what you get for trying to sit in my chair when it's got a stack of priceless texts on it." Daniel turned and watched as Abbie's face took on a faintly pink shade, and gave her a reassuring smile as she realized he was not as distracted as previously thought. "These look exactly like the symbols on the posts outside, which means that we'll probably need another sequence." He tapped Abbie on the arm to catch her attention. "We'll probably need those translations again."

She nodded, glad for the distraction. Dropping her pack to the floor, she fished out the piece of paper and handed it to him.

"Thank you." Daniel took another step so he was almost nose to nose with the wall. "Now, if I'm reading this correctly, this planet was a kind of 'safe haven' for the Ancients, somewhere they could escape to."

Abbie leaned forward to get a better look. "Sounds like something Oma would have been involved in." She turned and caught Daniel's nod of agreement. "Does it make any reference to a ZedPM?"

Daniel found himself fighting for control of his thoughts as Abbie started to brush her fingers over the symbols. "Uh, yeah, I would need a little time to look around at the rest of this writing, but so far, no mention yet of any gods or powers."

Abbie frowned as she continued to run her hands over the wall. "Just a place for the Ancients to be safe."

Daniel nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

Jack approached the pair and slung his arms over both of their shoulders. "So, what? You're telling me that we stumbled upon the Ancient's . . . summer home?"

Sam failed to cover up a snort, turning away to hide the grin on her face.

"I think that is a logical conclusion, O'Neill," Teal'c agreed. "It would account for the large quantity of comfortable seating arrangements scattered within this structure."

Abbie nodded. "The couches did throw me for a loop." She dug out a digital camera and started to wander her way around the room, stopping to take pictures of the wall as she went.

"Couches?" Jack turned and did a double take. "How did I miss that? Oh, right – living room furniture rarely makes the top of the threat assessment list." He unclipped his P90 as he strolled over to a dark blue, low slung couch and flopped down. "Well, not as comfortable as my chair back at home, but still." He made a big show of patting the cushion next to him and waving Teal'c over to join him. "I'd say, medium threat – squishy."

Teal'c took a seat beside Jack. "Indeed."

Sam didn't even bother to hide her grin at Teal'c's remark. Instead, she asked Daniel a question. "Does it refer to any population ever living here?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not from what I've seen so far or from our earlier trip. Did the UAV show any signs of a significant human presence?"

"No, but we were only able to search a small-"

"Hey, Daniel?" Abbie called from across the room. "Sorry to interrupt, Sam, but I really need Daniel."

_I bet you do_. Sam smiled to herself as Daniel apologized and excused himself to go where Abbie stood before yet another blinking console.

"What's up?" Daniel started to look at the console, eager to see what had caught Abbie's interest. It therefore surprised him a bit when she reached out and pulled his elbow until he was facing at the same section of wall she had been examining.

"You didn't find any mention of a people living here? At any time?" Daniel shook his head in response to Abbie's query. "But that doesn't mean anything. I've only seen that small section of the wall and- Abbie, what is it?"

Abbie took a breath and tried to rearrange her thoughts. "Ok, go with me for a second. We know this place was created by the Ancients, right?"

Daniel nodded.

"So, why would there be a bunch of couches all over the place? Last time I checked, Ancient's don't really have corporeal bodies, and therefore didn't have the same back problems Jack does." She pointed over her shoulder to where she knew Jack was in the process of searching for a cup holder. "So, they must have been put here for another purpose – there had to have been some other life form here, because why else would there be accommodations for physical beings. People."

Abbie bit her lip as she waited for the idea to sink in to Daniel's mind. "Still not convinced?"

Daniel raised his hand in what he hoped was a supportive manner. "No, no, it's not that, it's just . . . couches as proof of a human presence? That's an awfully big leap."

"I know, I know," Abbie agreed. "But . . . have you noticed anything strange about this room?"

Daniel shot her an amused look.

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, stranger than the obvious stuff. Like the walls?" She pulled her camera out from her pocket and scrolled through the photos. "I've noticed odd shadows in places, almost like outlines that look a hell of a lot like the door into this place looked."

Daniel reached out and took the camera, walking over to one of the sections of wall Abbie had taken a photo of. He ran his hand over the cool metal, surprised to find a seam that felt identical to the door that had allowed them entrance to the dome.

Abbie appeared over his shoulder. "I think they may be other rooms. Possibly storage. Think we can figure a way in?"

A slow smile spread across his face as he turned to face her. "I think so."

Abbie grinned at him and tried to ignore the wiggly feeling that had taken hold in her stomach.

* * *

**A/N** So much for more chapters over the holidays! I tried, but I may have gotten waaaay too sugared up on candy canes and then spent most of Christmas watching my brand spankin' new Season 9 DVD's. So thank you Santa:) And here's hoping for some more regular updates. Keep reading - and keep leaving reviews, I really appreciate those! 


	6. This Big

_**Chapter 6 – This Big**_

The next four hours were spent with Abbie and Daniel trying to figure out how to open those storage doors, with Teal'c, Jack and Sam keeping the room secure from their command post on the couch. Both linguists agreed that the consoles were the key to opening the doors, but neither could quite guess the right sequence that commanded the doors open. They sat facing each other in front of one of the consoles, sharing texts and what looked to be a small mountain made out of notebooks between them.

Abbie checked her watch, groaning as she noted the time. _Well, at least we've been inside all this time – no sunscreen reapplication. _She rubbed her hands over her eyes and watched as Daniel single-mindedly applied all of his concentration on solving the problem currently in front of him. He looked every bit the scholar, with two books sitting open in his lap, one in his left hand, the other holding on to a pencil. Focused and completely absorbed. Sort of the way he did everything in life. _Wish he would look at me that way._ She quickly pushed away the errant thought and reached her hands above her head in an attempt to stretch out her back. She may have been cleared for off world duty, but she seriously doubted Janet had endless hours of sitting on the floor in mind when she had forced Abbie to participate in that endurance training.

Abbie's stretch had caught Daniel's attention. He tried to tell himself the movement had broken his concentration, but his conscious keep reminding him that it was really because he hadn't stop staring at his fellow linguist since they had stepped thought the wormhole. He was finding himself seriously distracted by that bit of skin that was revealed as her t-shirt rode up. He watched, amused as she tried to cover a yawn. He reached behind him and offered her his canteen.

Abbie accepted it and signaled her thanks. "I hate desert planets."

Daniel chuckled at her declaration. "Oh, I don't know, they're not so bad once you get use to them." He shrugged. He was used to the sand and the heat and the wind. "Could be worse, I suppose."

Abbie screwed the cap back on his canteen and passed it back. "You're right. Remember '893?"

Daniel's brow scrunched as he searched his memory. "Forrest planet, lots of trees, everything was a different shade of purple?"

"Yup." Abbie held out her hands so they were about a half meter apart. "Mosquitoes this big."

Daniel laughed so hard at the horrified look on Abbie's face that he dropped the book he was holding onto the others in his lap. "Right, right – you're allergic to those, aren't you."

Abbie resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "Oh yeah. At least, I am to the Earth variety. One of those purple things bit me. Had a rash on my back for a week. Itched like hell." She shuddered. "Naturally, it was in the one place you can't scratch on your own. Poor Walter – I think I just about killed him with my hourly request forms for a personal back scratcher."

"Well, next time, just swing by my office. I'll take care of all of your back-scratching needs." The offer was out of Daniel's mouth before he could think.

Abbie quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'll keep that in mind, Doctor. We're scheduled for a follow up mission next month."

Daniel grinned. "I'll make sure to stock up on Calamine lotion."

"Smartass."

"I do what I can."

"Naturally." Abbie rolled her eyes at him as she pulled one of her notebooks onto her lap and grabbed another pencil. "In the meantime, any clue as to how we're going to get these other doors open?"

His smile faded as he glanced over his own notes. "I'm starting to think we've had the answer all along."

Abbie shot him a confused look. "How do you mean?"

"Well, look at this." Daniel pushed the books that sat between them to the side and scooted close enough so that their knees were touching. He gestured to the camera that was sitting on top of the console. "All of the symbols on the consoles are virtually identical to the ones on the posts outside. Which means that the combination to get access to these doors-"

"Could be the same as the one we used to get in here." Abbie finished his sentence.

"Right." Daniel picked up one of the smaller notebooks he had in his lap. "I think that, if the code to open the doors to get in here were a simple arrangement of an Ancient code that we've seen before, it's logical to assume that only Ancients would have the knowledge to gain access to this structure."

Abbie quickly caught on to where Daniel was headed. "And if the only people who could access it were Ancients, there would be no need for separate access codes for each individual system." She looked up from the notebook, eyes shining with discovery. "A master code!"

Daniel couldn't help but feel Abbie's enthusiasm. "Exactly. The only reservation I have is that we might not be able to put in the symbols ourselves."

Abbie gave him a serious nod. "Oh yeah. I don't know about you, but I won't be able to get up off this floor for at least a half hour." She broke out into a smile at the confused look that passed over his face. "Kidding, Daniel. I know we should probably have Jack enter the symbols, just in case there's a failsafe that blocks those without the Ancient gene from activating the doors." She frowned as she looked down at the pile of books covering her legs. "But I think I'm serious about the half hour thing."

Daniel couldn't help but smile. Not only had Abbie already accounted for the possibility that something seriously bad could happen if they didn't correctly enter the translation, but she also supported his need to be cautious. He really liked that about her, even if she did take that same opportunity to tease the crap out of him.

He pushed himself up off the floor and straightened to his full height, then bent down slightly to offer Abbie his hand. "Well, I think we should probably get Jack over here before his molecules bind permanently to that couch." As he helped lift Abbie off the floor, he pulled her a little closer then he had anticipated, and he was momentarily caught off guard at his reaction to having her body so close to his that he could feel the heat she generated through his shirt. _Now would be the time to say something not stupid._ The moment was gone before he could open his mouth and stutter out some kind of awkward sentence as she pulled away and headed towards the rest of the team.

Abbie had to get away. Daniel was always very considerate – opening doors, pulling out chairs, little things that made her wonder who exactly had taught him such excellent manners in his youth. Helping her stand up was no different, but this time she had misjudged the distance and wound up so far in his personal space that she could smell the faint scent of his shampoo. The sudden realization had caused her to pull away, guilty of the thoughts she had been beginning to feel for her superior. She cleared her throat as she approached her other teammates. "Guys?"

Jack , Teal'c and Sam all looked up at the sound of Abbie's voice. "Do you think I can get the three of you to join me over here?" she asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Jack shoved what looked suspiciously like a Gameboy into his pack and led the way over to the console where Daniel was standing, going over the translation once last time. "So," Jack rubbed his hands together. "What are we thinking?"

"Well, the short version is, we think it'd be best if you entered in the symbols to, hopefully, open the rest of the doors in here." Daniel asked.

Jack looked at Teal'c and Sam in surprise. "What, that's it? No lecture? No background information? No long winded speech on the origins of this blue metal stuff and the possible ramifications of the blinking lights on our psyche?"

Daniel huffed in mock frustration. "No, Jack. Abbie and I have already worked out most of the hard stuff. All we need is for you to press the buttons."

"Well I like this." Jack smiled at Abbie. "You get to come along on all our missions from now on. Makes Daniel more cooperative. And a hell of a lot more pleasant."

Abbie shot Sam a look that clearly dared her to make a noise and face the consequences. A look that also reminded Sam of Abbie's continued status as a UN Diplomat and the immunity that status included.

"Ok, pressing the buttons." Jack took the paper that Daniel held out and approached what he assumed was the front of the console. He reached out and just before he depressed the first symbol, he asked "Any last words?"

"Jaaaack."

"I believe you took advantage of 'cheat codes' in order to secure your victory in Def JamVendetta, O'Neill."

"Blue jello is way better than the red jello, sir."

"Press the button, Jetson?" Abbie offered.

"Well said." Jack gave her a quick nod, then entered the sequence, watching as the panel lit up with every press of his finger. At the final symbol, a loud hissing sound filled the room, and the wall behind the console slid away to reveal an additional room.

"Sam, Teal'c."

"Yessir." Sam and Teal'c entered the room with zats drawn, conducting a quick sweep of the area as the rest of the team waited in the main room. Sam appeared back in the doorway. "All clear, sir. It looks to be a food storage locker of some kind."

Abbie raised an eyebrow and shot Daniel a look of mock surprise. "Really?" She grinned and joined the other two inside the room. "This is exactly what I was taking about earlier." She turned to see Daniel and Jack enter the room, not missing the look of excitement on Daniel's face as he took in the storage containers and what looked to be plastic gallon drums of water. "This has to mean I was right. There were people here."

Daniel looked up from one of the container. "And, apparently, they had a real weakness for 'dried myena'." "Just promise me you'll stay away from anything yellow." Sam grimace when Abbie shot her a confused look. "Trust me on that one."

Daniel grinned at Abbie. "You were right. This has to mean that someone, other than the Ancients, had significant presence here, and that those individuals had both the need for physical structures as well as sustenance. Good job, Doctor,"

"Thank you, Doctor." Abbie removed her camera from her pocket and went to work capturing photos of the room. "Think we'll find more about them?"

"I hope so," Sam piped in. "I'd love to find out more about the material the walls are made from. There has to be some technology hidden somewhere in one of these extra storage rooms."

"Yeah. Jack, you should probably take Teal'c and Sam and go open up the rest of them," Daniel suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Jack gabbed his pack up off the floor and stuffed the translation into his back pocket. "This way kids."

Sam rolled her eyes at Abbie as she and Teal'c followed Jack back into the main part of the building.

The rest of the day flew by for Abbie. After taking far too many pictures of walls and containers and couches, she was almost dragged into another room by Teal'c who had discovered what appeared to be living quarters for what they now believed to be human guests of the Ancients. Though who those guests were, she didn't have a clue. Sam had made some discoveries of her own, determining that the main consoles were recoding information about the planet, such as temperature, wind speed, various topographical data, and other stuff she was still trying to figure out. Daniel had spent the entire time copying down symbols from the walls. Abbie was sure she saw at least two notebooks already full of various translations and what she knew to be Daniel's notes about what to reference when they got back to the SGC. She was glad that they had found something, even if it so far hadn't turned out to be a ZPM like they had hoped. _Nice to know the day wasn't a total waste of sunscreen._

"Ok, campers. I think it's time to check in." Jack poked his head into the living quarters Abbie and Daniel were studying. "Daniel, you want to take the Doc over there with you? I think you both could use a break."

"Sure." Daniel stuck the pencil he was holding behind his ear and followed Abbie towards the door. He realized that Jack had not followed them. "Yes, Jack, those are bunk beds. And no, you can't sleep on one."

A faint "Rats" reached Abbie's ears as she reached down to scoop up her backpack and place it on her shoulders. Daniel joined her at the door, also adjusting his bag, checking to make sure his GDO was still there. "Ready?"

"Think so." Daniel looked up and gave Abbie a small smile. "Um, forgetting something?"

Abbie stared blankly for a moment before the light went off in her brain. "Oh! Right." She pulled out her blindingly neon blue hat from one of the many zippered pockets on her pack and adjusted it on her head. "OK, now I'm ready."

"Be back in an hour or so, Jack." Daniel said as he and Abbie brushed past the Colonel on their way outside the structure.

"Radio if you have any problems," Jack called out "And keep your eyes open, I though I saw something move out there."

Daniel chuckled as the two linguists set out for the gate. "Sounds like you're not the only one having problems with the desert heat."


	7. Cookies & Crossbows

_**Chapter 7 – Cookies & Crossbows**_

"I hate desert planets."

Daniel snorted. "I think we've established that."

Abbie gave him a look. "Yes, well, it bears repeating."

She and Daniel had spent the last hour trekking through the sand and surprisingly high winds of P3X-459. A trek that, though rather long and hot and very, very sticky, was made all the better since she had someone to walk with. Abbie tried to convince herself that any company on this kind of walk would have been welcome, but she knew that the fact that it was Daniel walking at her side and reminding her to reapply her sunscreen was making it all the more better. But she still couldn't help but be relieved when the Stargate finally came into view.

Abbie stepped up to the DHD and turned to Daniel. "You want to dial or shall I?"

"I think you better. Wouldn't want you to run back through the gate in an attempt to escape the heat," Daniel teased.

"Don't forget the sand, Daniel, the heat and the sand," Abbie replied as she dialed the address for Earth from memory. "If anything, I'd kill to have General Hammond send Walter through with a snow cone maker and a very large-"

Daniel looked up when Abbie's voice was abruptly cut off. The scene in front of him did nothing to help the sinking feeling he had when she had stopped talking. A group of seven or eight people stood in front of the DHD, each of them holding what looked to be some kind of crossbow. Most were dressed in the sand coloured robes similar to those Daniel had worn on Abydos, but with a strange blue, glowing object pined to their chests. The gentleman he guessed to be the leader was pointing his arrow directly at Abbie's heart.

"Uh, Daniel?" Abbie's voice sounded calm, but Daniel could detect a tremor that gave away her uneasiness.

"Yeah, I know, I'm up." Daniel walked slowly to stand shoulder to shoulder with Abbie. He put his hand on her arm in an attempt to reassure her before addressing the small army stopping them from dialing home. "Hi. My name is Daniel Jackson, and this is Abbie Webber. We're peaceful explorers from the planet-"

"What is you purpose here?" The man holding his weapon on Abbie demanded.

"Ah, well, as I was saying, we're explorers and we came through the Stargate, the large round circle behind you, yes, well that's not important, what is important is that we're actually here-"

"Yes, the chappa'ai, we know what it is." The man again cut Daniel off. "That's not what I asked you. What are you doing on Ergonis?"

"I'd suggest getting to the point, Daniel." Abbie said as she smiled reassuringly, hoping that the two women to the back of the group were discussing lemon square recipes and not her outrageously bright hat.

"Right. Ah, this is actually our second visit to your planet – we found a structure a ways from the Stargate and found it interesting," Daniel explained in his best lecture voice. "We had hoped to learn more about-"

"And you never thought to ask permission for access to the sacred temple?" The man Abbie had mentally dubbed Dorko spoke up, clearly identifying himself as the next in line for command, once he got the leader out of the way off the next convenient cliff, of course.

Daniel was a little taken aback by this, and was clearly starting to get a little agitated. "Well, as far as we knew, there was no life on this planet. So, asking permission was not really high on our priority list."

"What Daniel means to say," Abbie shot him a look that said _Play nice, and for god's sake, stop channeling Jack_, "is that had we been aware that you and your people were in charge of giving permission for us to enter the, uh, sacred temple, we would have done so." She looked back at Daniel, who was vigorously nodding his agreement.

Dorko looked less than impressed. "Yes, well, good intentions aside, you are here without the permission of the Keeper and as such, you shall be punished."

"Keeper?" Daniel replied weakly

"Oh, here we go," Abbie muttered. "I swear, if that guy makes me relive high school . . ."

The Leader apparently had excellent hearing, because Abbie's comment had jarred him, causing him to look at her as though seeing her for the first time. His eyes widened when he reached the top of her head. "Ezchoi?'

"Bless you?" Abbie offered.

"Ezchoi? Is that your leader, the person you protect the Stargate for?" Daniel asked

The Leader shook his head and raised a hand behind him, gesturing for one of the gossiping women to approach him. He spoke to her in hushed tones, speaking what Daniel though to be the same dialect of Ancient and Latin that he and Abbie had found on the walls of the structure. Daniel couldn't help but notice that the entire time the Leader had spoken to the woman, his eyes remained glued to Abbie's headgear. This was definitely not a good thing.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt here," Daniel took a small step forward and placed his hand in the air, signaling he meant no harm, "but we've actually got to check in with the people from our planet. If that's ok with you and Ezchoi, we'd like to quickly dial the Stargate and just let them know we're ok."

"That won't be necessary, Daniel Jackson." The Leader had stepped forwarded and grabbed Abbie by the arm, pulling her towards him. "You are free to make contact with you authority but I must insist that Abbie Webber accompany us to Ergonis"

Abbie quickly twisted her arm and released herself from the Leader's grasp, taking a few steps back so she was out of reach. "As fun as that sounds, I really think I'll just stay here with Daniel. Besides, nobody takes me anywhere I don't want to without at least giving me a cookie first."

Daniel couldn't hide the smile that stretched across his lips, both proud of the way Abbie had managed to free herself of the Leader's hold and because of the confused look that passed over his face as she stressed he'd have a hard time taking her anywhere. He refused to acknowledge the 'here with Daniel' part; it was a train of though he did not want to get on. Well, at least not on a strange planet with Abbie standing right beside him.

"I'm afraid, Abbie Webber, that you or I have little choice in the matter." The Leader gestured to two of his men, who secured both Daniel and Abbie, bodily forcing them to their knees. "It is not my place to decide what becomes of you, but if insist on staying together, then you shall share the same fate."

The Leader pulled two dull grey objects out from what Abbie assumed was a pocket, and pressed one onto first Daniel's, then Abbie's shoulder, just above their hearts. On contact, both started to glow the same eerie blue colour as the rest of the group. Abbie couldn't do much but stare at Daniel, unsure what to do in a situation like this. Her off world missions had consisted mostly of search and decipher – none of her rocks had ever taken her hostage and forced her to wear what looked to be an overly gaudy broach.

Daniel did his best to look reassuring as he glanced over at Abbie, making sure she was ok. Well, as ok as was possible being held by a planet's native population with no way of letting Jack or even the SGC know something was up. Hoping that his movements were blocked by the man currently standing guard in front of him, he carefully removed his radio and eased it into the sand near the DHD. Mirroring his movements, Abbie pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and hastily scribbled a few symbols and did her best to hide the piece of paper in the sand – at the very least, if the rest of SG1 came to look for them, they'll at least know they were together and have a radio. That was the best they could do under the circumstances. Abbie just hoped that it was enough.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Yay for new chapter:) I am finally finished school for the year, so I hoping to get this story updated and finished as soon as I write it – hopefully every few days or so. And, as always, feel free to leave a review – I always like to hear what you guys like or don't like about this little story. _


	8. Captured

_**Chapter 8- Captured**_

Sam was starting to get worried. It had been over four hours and none of them had heard anything from Daniel or Abbie. She picked herself up from the couch she was sitting on and joined Teal'c, who was standing guard at the entrance of the structure. "Hey, Teal'c."

Teal'c inclined his head to acknowledge her presence. "Major Carter." He returned his gaze to the horizon, scanning for what he hoped would be the figures of their missing teammates. "It worries me greatly that we have not heard from DanielJackson or AbbieWebber."

Sam nodded her agreement. "Me too, Teal'c. It shouldn't have taken them this long to reach the gate, check in, and then get back here."

"I know." Sam and Teal'c turned to the sound of Jack's voice. He was just stepping out of the room with the bunk beds, pulling his cap onto his head. "It's been too long. We're going to go to the gate, see what's taking so long."

Geared up, they made the trek to the gate, and were surprised to find the DHD stuck with a half-dialed address. "Sir?" Sam pointed to the piece of Ancient technology. "This is Earth's address." She looked around, almost as if she expected Daniel and Abbie to jump out from behind the nearest sand dune and yell "Gotcha!"

"O'Neill. I believe you should look at this." Teal'c gestured with his staff weapon down at the sand.

"Whatcha got there, Teal'c?" Jack walked over and plucked a radio and what looked like a piece of loose leaf paper from a little pile in the sand. "Well, if this doesn't say 'Kidnapped Archeologist, times two', I don't know what does." He let out a sigh, and turned to Carter. "Finish the dialing – we should check in and let Weir in on the situation."

Sam nodded and went to work dialing the gate. In a few minutes, the wormhole was established, and Sam made sure their code was sent through and that the MALP was receiving the SGC's incoming transmission.

"SG1? You're over four hours late." Dr. Weir's distorted voice came through the gate. "We were about to send another team to check on you."

"Yes, we're sorry about that Doctor, but it seems we've run into a bit of a problem," Jack explained.

"What kind of problem?"

"A missing archeologists kind of problem." Jack went on to explain the situation, making sure to mention the little information they had learned about the Ancient structure and the fact that two of their team members were currently unaccounted for.

"I though that P3X-459 was uninhabited?" Weir asked.

Sam approached the MALP. "That what we had originally thought, but Daniel and Abbie found evidence that supports that there was life here at one point. I don't see any reason why that life hasn't been able to be sustained."

Sam could practically hear Elizabeth crossing her arms.

"Look, Doctor, from what we can tell, Daniel and Dr. Webber aren't injured, and the only things left behind were a radio and a sheet of paper with some wiggly lines on it," Jack said as he passed the paper to Carter. "That has to mean that if they have been captured, which is the logical conclusion here, then they knew enough to leave something behind for us to find. We need to stay here and find a way to get them back."

Elizabeth let out a soft sigh. "Ok. I'll give you another 12 hours. After that, I'm sending reinforcements through. No arguments, Colonel."

Jack's mouth snapped shut.

"That should be more than enough time to do one of two things. I expect radio contact in 12 hours, no exceptions this time. Weir out."

Jack stared as the wormhole disengaged. "What was that bit about time for two things?"

Teal'c shared a look with Sam. "I believe DoctorWeir is referring to the twin possibilities that we will locate DanielJackson and AbbieWebber and return to Earth, or that we will all be captured."

Jack stared at his teammate. "There's a cheery thought."

"Um, sir?" Sam held out the slip of paper. "I think you'll want to take a look at this."

Jack took the piece of paper from her and stared at it. "And?"

"Look familiar at all, sir?"

Jack slowly shook his head. He was so focused on the symbols that he didn't see Teal'c approach until he had pulled the piece of paper out of Jack's hands, turned it upside down, and then handed it back with the solemnest of nods.

The light bulb goes on and Jack immediately recognizes the scribbling as Ancient. "Follow the blue hat," he reads out loud. "Huh."

"Sir, that has to be a message from Abbie. She joked that if we lost her on this mission, we should have no problems finding her with that hat on," Sam pointed out.

"It could be that," Jack agreed. "Or it could be that she's seen 'The Matrix' too many times."

Sam frowned at her C.O. "Sir, if we can get the SGC to launch a UAV, we may be able to do a visual check of the planet's surface and see if we can find them. At the very least, the planet has very little to no plant life, so the only blue that appears has a very good chance of being Abbie's hat."

"I am inclined to agree with MajorCarter," Teal'c said. "AbbieWebber's pimp hat will make it most possible for us to locate her and DanielJackson, as well as their captors. It will perhaps give us the advantage we need to secure their freedom."

"Dial the gate Carter, get Weir back on the line." Jack sighed and adjusted his hat. "Gotta love desert planets."

xxxxxxx

"So, this is new."

Daniel couldn't help but smile as he replied. "Maybe for you." In the last hour, he and Abbie had been transported to what he assumed was some kind of city. Moments after they had hid the radio and paper for the others to find, they had been blindfolded and beamed directly into a holding cell, a dark one room affair complete with bars and cold stone floors. He had no idea where he was, how he had gotten there, and what exactly they had done to deserve imprisonment. But, despite all of his doubts and not knowing, he was sure of one thing – Abbie Webber's sense of humour stood up in anything. Including incarceration.

Abbie moved from her spot by their cell's bars and joined Daniel on the floor. She wiggled around, trying to find a less painful way of sitting on the hard stone, and settled for bracing her feet against the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. "Yeah, well, I know this isn't new for you, but this is my first time being held against my will. Well, that is if you don't count being forced to listen to McKay go on about how crappy the dialing program is."

Daniel laughed. "Can't say I've ever had the pleasure." He shifted slightly, attempting to keep his back as straight as possible, then shut his eyes as a wave of pain hit.

"Hey, you ok?" Abbie couldn't mask the concern that was clear in her voice. The obvious pain Daniel was experiencing made her feel as if she needed to do something, anything, to make sure he was as comfortable as possible.

"No, I'm fine." Daniel's face relaxed as his eyes opened. His gazed fix on Abbie, and he couldn't stop the small thrill that ran up his spine as he saw the concern written all over her face. "We've faced vengeful Goa'ulds, millions of Replicators, and a whole lot of angry Jaffa – I think I'll be able to handle a little back pain."

"Ok, but if there's anything I can do-"

"You'll be the first to know." Daniel gave her a reassuring smile. "Promise."

Abbie relaxed, seemingly happy with his explanation, and continued her thorough visual inspection of their current home. It was something Daniel had noticed from working with her – Abbie's head looked as if it was on a permanent swivel, as she swept her eyes across a room, cataloguing and making note of every detail around her. She often mouthed words as she read them, regardless of what language they happened to be in. She approached each new environment like a giant puzzle – there were pieces everywhere, and the only place she saw the whole picture was in her mind. But Daniel had to admit the best part was that Abbie would get so caught up in her surroundings, she never noticed that she wasn't the only one doing a little staring.

"So," Daniel cleared his throat and shoved his wayward thoughts aside. "Question for you."

"Yes, I think these people have a subscription to _Better Homes & Dungeons_." Abbie tore her gaze from the wall and smiled at the face Daniel gave her. "Kidding."

"Right." Daniel rolled his eyes. "I was going to ask what happened to your hat?" They had spent a bit of time going over what items they still had, which had amounted to one radio, two pairs of sunglasses, a pencil Abbie had found in her hair, and the tube of sunscreen she carried in her pocket. The violently blue hat had not been among them.

"Ah, that." Abbie pushed herself away from the wall and settled into a crossed legged position. "Well, ok, remember how we got here?"

"Vaguely."

"Funny. We were transported what I would guess was several hundred miles in, what, a few minutes? And did you sit down on anything that resembled a chair or even a floor on some kind of ship?"

"Uh, no."

"Me neither. And if the impressive sound of air whipping past my ears at what felt like a million miles an hour the entire time was anything to go on, then we were definitely not being transported by any method I'm aware of."

Daniel's mind started adding up the numbers. "Are you suggesting that we . . . flew here?"

Abbie shrugged her shoulders. "In a manner of speaking. I doubt we flew in a flap-your-wings-and-miss-the-ground kind of way, but I'd give even money it had to do with those glowing buttons of ours."

Daniel nodded. The little pins that he and Abbie had worn had certainly looked familiar enough to be of Ancient design. "It's plausible. But it still doesn't explain why you don't have your hat."

"Well, by the time I figured out how we were being moved in a group through the air like that, we had started what I guessed was our descent. I've always been sensitive to pressure – it was years before I could ride in an airplane without feeling like my head was going to split open." Abbie winced at the memories of more than a few painful flights. "When we started to slow down, I tipped my head so my hat would fall off. I'm hoping that Sam will be able to rig something to do an aerial search of the planet and locate the very special shade of blue that is that hat." She smiled at him with triumph clear in her eyes, and he couldn't helps but smile back

"You're taking all of this very well." Daniel observed. "The whole kidnapped on a strange planet without backup thing."

"Yeah, well, don't let the calm exterior fool you," Abbie smile took a nervous turn. "I'm just really good at screaming on the inside."

"Then you'll be just fine," Daniel laughed.

The sound of something large scraping across the stone floor pulled both of their gazes to the massive door that had closed behind them once they were locked in their cell. The door opened to reveal Dorko and one of the women from the group that had met them at the DHD. Both Daniel and Abbie stood up as the two approached the bars separating them.

"I have been instructed to have you made presentable and brought before the Keeper." Dorko gestured to the woman standing beside him. "Lena here will provide you with clean clothes and a place to wash and make yourself ready. Do not try to escape – it will prove useless to counteract the city's defenses on your own. No harm will come to you, so long as you listen and obey." With a smirk, he pressed a button on a band he wore around his wrist, causing the bars to slip to one side and allow Daniel and Abbie through. A quick look at Daniel told Abbie that they were going to heed Dorko's warning – no trying to get away, despite Abbie's firm belief that she could take Dorko down, if needed.

Daniel was still a little wary about their situation. No one had come to interrogate them or so much as ask them politely where it was they had come from. In the past, when the only interest their 'hosts' had showed them was in regard to their looks and attire, it was rarely a good thing. "Well, as long as we're being held against our will, we may as well look good doing it." He made a few steps to exit the cell, but was held back when Dorko raised the crossbow like weapon at him.

"Your presence is not required." Dorko motioned for Abbie to step forward. "My orders are only in regards to her."

A short burst of fear ran through Daniel's system. "And I assume I'm supposed to take your word that nothing will happen to Abbie?"

Dorko shrugged. "I have been given no direction as to your fate."

"Right. Well, as encouraging as that sounds, I think that maybe I should accompany her, just in case." Daniel couldn't mask the sarcasm that laced his voice, but he hoped it hid the tremor in his speech as he realized that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something, anything, happened to Abbie.

Abbie gave a small shake of her head, unable to wrap her mind around the fact that she was witnessing first hand the legendary Jackson over protectiveness. Part of her was flattered that Daniel cared about her safety; the other half wanted to remind him of the time they had been partners for a self defense class, the one that ended with him on his back on the mats. "Daniel, it will be ok," she spoke softly, and was relieved to see him relax a little at her words. "While you're stuck here in this dirty cell, I'll be able to take a bath and wash all that sand out of my hair."

Daniel allowed himself a small smile. Abbie seemed to default to humour to get her though difficult situations, one more thing he could add to the growing list of things he admired about her. But her attempt at making him feel better about her being led off to who knows where without him did little to lessen the knot in the pit of his stomach. Daniel nodded, realizing the was little he could do, and watched as she brushed by him to leave the cell, giving him a small squeeze on the arm to reassure him she could take care of herself. "Be careful," he called out just as she was about the leave the room.

Abbie looked back and gave him a brilliant smile. "I always am." With that, she was guided out of the room, the door closing tightly behind her.

Daniel sank back against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself down. Whatever was in store for Abbie, he prayed she would be ok.

* * *

**A/N** Thanks so much to **Aedammair** and **starjems88** for reviewing the last chapter – your kind words really made my day. I hope both of you and everyone else will continue to read! Thanks again! 


	9. Ikea Commercial

_**Chapter 8 - Ikea Commercial**_

_I've landed in an Ikea commercial._

The thought swirled around in Abbie's mind on an endless loop. Once she was sprung from the cell, her guards had led her through a series of twisting and turning hallways, and after what felt like hours, she had been deposited in a large room that reminder her so much of the Swedish home furnishing store, she wondered if Ikea had, in fact, been a business venture that had started somewhere out in the galaxy. It would certainly explain all of the strange names that populated the shelves of the put it together yourself furniture. The carpet, the walls, the chairs, the curtains that fluttered in the open window, even the bed set up in the middle of the room were all the same pale shade of blue.

Lena had showed Abbie the bathing room, and instructed her to wash and put on the clothes that had been set upon the bed for her. She also showed Abbie where the towels and other soaps were, and made sure she understood how to work the various taps that regulated the flow of water into the sunken in marble bath.

Lena then explained how to summon the guards who would escort her to the audience with the Keeper, whoever that was, then left her with the warning that she should make herself ready as soon as possible.

"I suggest you get ready as quickly as possible, the Keeper does not like to be kept waiting," Lena spoke as she exited the bathing area and sat down on the bed.

"I'll keep that in mind." Abbie stared at the woman, unclear as to why she hadn't left the room yet. Abbie's life of diplomacy coupled with her anthropological training meant she had always considered herself very open when it came to the customs of other cultures, but communal bathing had traditionally been where she crossed the line. "Uh, Lena, I appreciate your help, but I think you can leave now."

Lena shook her head in the negative. "I'm afraid not. I am under rather strict orders to ensure you are not left alone in any part of the city until you have met the Keeper. I mean no offence, Abbie, nor do I want to make you uncomfortable, but your arrival here is a very exciting time for my people," Lena smile beamed out at Abbie, "and my duty is to ensure you make your audience with the Keeper."

The hope written all over Lena's face both softened Abbie's annoyance and raised her concern. "An exciting time for your people?"

"Oh yes!" Lena insisted as she scooted down the bed in excitement. "We have searched other planets for years in a quest to locate technology that would help our planet – and it is the opinion of the Counsel that with the arrival of you and your team, we'll finally be safe!"

Abbie quirked an eyebrow. "Safe?"

Lena clamped her hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh. "Shouldn't have said that, but since you'll probably find out about it from the Keeper anyway . . . our planet isn't exactly the most stable, land wise. We experience the occasional shudder, as if something under the land was tying to get out, but for the most part it's not something we can control."

Abbie nodded her head in understanding. "We have something similar on my planet – we call them earthquakes. Is that what the Power of the Gods is for? To help you control the seismic activity? Keep the damage they can cause to safe levels?" Her understanding of Earth's geophysical activity was limited, but she knew enough from the few conversations with Sam of just how dangerous shock waves could be.

"Sort of. Mostly we just let the Keeper worry about the Power of the Gods – it's not something we really discuss." Lena brightened considerably. "But now that you're here, we'll be fine!"

Abbie gave Lena a small smile. "I hope so. Would it be possible to get some more information on your planet and your people? Perhaps a place where you keep documents and recordings of your lives?"

Lena looked deep in thought as she processed Abbie's words. "The Library! No doubt the Keeper will allow you access once she meets you. After all, you are _you_."

"Right, I am me." Abbie muttered. Deciding that she wasn't likely to understand much else after that, she walked over to Lena and gently grabbed her arm, pulling her off the bed. "As educational as this had been, Lena, I think it's time for me to get ready. I'll see you in a few minutes, you can just wait outside the door, ok? Bye!" Abbie spoke over Lena's protest at being pushed through the door and having it closed in her face. She had never met a person who let their excitement bubble so close to the surface all the time. _That woman could give Jonas a run for his money._

With Lena gone, Abbie removed her BDU's, went about drawing a bath, and proceeded to get all of the sand out of her hair. She had only been partially joking with Daniel, and was more than a little eager at the chance to remove as much of the desert from her body as she could. Once she was as clean as she decided she could be, Abbie wrapped herself in a towel, curious to see what kind of clothing she was going to be wearing. She could practically hear Sam's voice reminding her that if there was a headdress involved, she should be running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

Approaching the bed with a chuckle, she found what appeared to be a folded set of pajamas sitting atop the sheets. She ran her hand along the folded cloth, and was surprised to find that it felt like silk. Reaching out to take a better look at the outfit, she was a little startled to see that it was the same pale blue as the rest of the room, with a v neck sleeveless top and a pair of bottoms, similar enough to ones she had at home. With a shrug, she dried herself off and slipped into the provided clothing. She couldn't help but note how well the clothes fit, almost as if the material was designed to mould to the wearer's body. Without the aid of a mirror, she redid her hair in her customary off world ponytail, and decided she was as ready as she could be. Transferring her sunblock and other items into a pocket she had discovered on the pajama pants, she went about summoning the guard who would take her to her all important meeting. As she pressed the large blue button she had the fleeting thought _I'm on an alien planet in a set of pale blue silk pajamas. I don't see how this could get any more embarrassing._

xxxxxxx

"You're kidding."

Sam pushed off her hat in frustration. "No, sir, I'm not."

Jack looked at her incredulously. "You're telling me that you managed to find one hat, one single piece of clothing in a desert the size of a planet? That's like . . . like . . . T, help me out here."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Like locating a sewing implement in a pile of nourishment for farm animals."

Jack pointed at the Jaffa. "Exactly!"

Sam rolled her eyes at her teammates. "Yes, well, sir, I realized I warned you both it was a long shot, but it was a neon blue hat in the middle of a brown sand desert. I just programmed the UAV to look for intense bursts of colour among the sand. And it worked pretty well. It was able to located Abbie's hat just outside what looks like a large city of some kind."

She gestured to the images the UAV had been able to pick up while flying over the planet. "The general structure doesn't really look that familiar, but I'd bet Janet an entire bar of Cadbury Burnt Almond that the dome in the centre was built by someone who knew the Ancients."

"I believe we would have the most success if we were to enter here," Teal'c pointed to what they were calling the North side of the dome, "and then conduct a search for DanielJackson and AbbieWebber."

Sam nodded her agreement. "I think we can take out any guards that may be on watch fairly easily, and I doubt we'll have any problems gaining access to the dome if it runs on Ancient technology – the gene should let you in."

Jack slipped on his sunglasses. "Ok, kids – let's go storm the dome."

xxxxxxx

Domes were strange things. One of those architectural wonders that never ceased to amaze or confuse. Abbie's years as a UN translator had allowed her to travel the world, and she had yet to come across a country that didn't use the round bubble like structures somewhere in a major city's design. It had always reminded her of an egg – press as hard as you could on the ends and it would never break. She had always imagined when discovering the remains of a dome that the architects were trying to impose some of the strength into their buildings, and by extension the people that visited them.

In her life, she had never seen a dome quite like this. Made entirely of blue glass, she could just barely make out the ceiling that stretched high above her head. She smiled, knowing that Sam's jaw would hit the floor, and then she'd be tripping all over her tongue to learn exactly what kind of technology they had that would allow them to build such a structure. In truth, the actual building paled when compared to the statues and huge wall hangings of what she guessed where heroic battles fought long ago that adorned the space. Abbie was particularly concerned when her guards abruptly stopped in the center of the room, shoving her to the floor in front of a large object that was hidden beneath a deep blue sheet.

"Ow, guys, watch the knees," she muttered. That earned her an extra shove. "Thanks."

Motion at the East side of the dome caught her eye – a tall, regal looking woman entered, dressed in what appeared to be some kind of long, flowing cloak in the same deep blue color, approached her with a deliberately slow pace. Abbie felt as if the older woman was taking her time sizing her up, determining the best strategy for attack. Abbie decided it was time to be a little proactive.

"Hi. I'm-"

"Abbie Webber." The woman's voice was surprisingly smooth for someone who had obviously seen her fair share of years. "Yes, I know. But the better question is, do you know who I am?"

Abbie went with her gut. "You would be Ezchoi?

The woman chuckled. "Not quite. I am Lalida, Keeper of this place. It is my responsibility to keep the Power of the Gods from those who would abuse it."

Abbie's ears perked up at her words. "The Power of the Gods? So it does exist. Do you keep it here, because we searched the structure we found when we came through the Stargate, well, uh, you might call it the chappa'ai but we call it a Stargate, and we couldn't find a single thing that looked even remotly like a Zed-"

"Do you always talk this much?" Lalida cut Abbie off with a shake of her head.

Abbie gave her a half smile. "It's worse when I'm nervous."

Lalida walked a slow circle around Abbie, and again she felt as if she was being measured, though this time she had a good idea as to the reason.

"Is this a test? I mean," Abbie cursed her inability to keep her mouth shut, "Are you trying to decide if I am worthy of witnessing the Power of the Gods?"

Lalida shook her head. "It is not my descion to make. But, it is my choice whether or not you are prepaered for the honour."

"Oh."

"Yes. You are young for a woman of your world, correct?"

"Young enough, I suppose."

"Are you a leader on your world?"

"I wouldn't use the word leader. But my team and I could be considered dimpolamts – that's the term we use for individuals who visit other worlds on behalf of our planet."

"Then the young man who was with you when you were brough here – he is a part of your team?"

"Yes, his name is Daniel Jackson. He is an archeologist and a lingiust, someone who studies past languages and civilizations."

"I sense that there is a great care between you."

"Yes, there is – we're teammates," Abbie explained, praying that this wasn't a world where they raised mind readers – otherwise Lalida would have no problem seeing just how much Abbie cared. "Part of our job is to function as a unit, all of the parts working together towards a similar goal. Daniel is my teammate and a good friend, and I trust him implicitly. I can say the same of any of my teammates."

Lalida took a moment to ponder her answer. "And you would do anything to ensure that your friend and teammate, Daniel, would come to no harm?"

Abbie knew a challenge when she heard one. "I would," she replied, her tone leaving no room for interpretation.

Lalida nodded and gestured to the guards, who promtly turned on their heels and left the room. "It is a rare person that would put the life of another before her own. There have been far too few in my lifetime." She allowed herself a whistful smile. "First impressions are irriplacable, and by what my men have told me, you made one they are not likely to forget."

Abbie was confused. Yes, she had seen the shocked look on The Leader's face when that had encountered them at the DHD, but she couldn't think of anything that would have caused such an impression. Especially since she was pretty sure she did actually tell the Leader she required a cookie.

Apparently, the confusion showed on her face.

"You are probably wondering what you could have done that made my men notice you?" Abbie nodded. "It wasn't so much what you were saying, my dear, but what you were wearing." Lalida walked over to the covered object, and tugged the sheet to reveal a statue.

Abbie's eyes widened. "No frickin' way."

* * *

_**A/N: **_Thanks for the reviews, **starjems88**, **E. Nagrom**, and **Oma-1**. They really made my day! 


	10. Yellow Brick Drone

_**Chapter 10- Yellow Brick Drone**_

Lalida looked at her strangely. "I beg your pardon."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I . . . it's just . . . the statute . . . I'm just a little shocked, that's all." Abbie struggled to explain. "I meant no disrespect. May I?"

Lalida understood Abbie's question, and gestured that she should feel free to inspect the statue. It reminded Abbie of carvings that were common in museums on Earth. Roughly five feet tall, the same attention to detail, the same marble-like material, although like the rest of this planet, the marble was blue. This one was a depiction of a young woman, who had one hand settled over her stomach and the other outstretched, with what looked to be a small box sitting on her open palm. But the thing that had Abbie as close to swearing as she ever did was the item perched atop the woman's head. An identical replica of the hat Teal'c had lent to Abbie. Down to the stripes.

"You seem shocked to find this here."

Lalida's voice broke through Abbie's thought. "Ah, yes, I am."

"This statue was created many years before my time – it is rumoured to have preexisted our city, that my people built around it at the instruction of the Ancients," Lalida smiled as she saw a look of recognition pass over Abbie's face. "Yes, we too know of the Ancients. It was they who entrusted us with the Power of the Gods. With it came a promise – that only the woman who wore that hat-" she pointed to the marble statue's head, "could be trusted."

Abbie was still having trouble believing what was happening. She had worn an outrageously ugly hat on what was supposed to be a simple recon and decipher mission, and now that hat was going to grant her access to the very information that had convinced Dr. Weir to approve the mission. Her eyes closed as she tried to make sense of the strange situation.

"You're right to be suspicious," Lalida smiled. "But I can assure you, we mean no harm."

Abbie's eyes snapped open. "Then why do you keep Daniel locked in a cell?"

"A valid point." Lalida gestured with an elegant hand and the two guards that had escorted Abbie entered, this time pushing a resisting Daniel in front of them. His struggling stopped as soon as he saw Abbie. At Lalida's signal, the guards released him. Daniel pulled out of their grasp and made a beeline straight to Abbie. "Are you ok?" His voice sounded raspy, as though he had not talked in days.

"I'm fine," Abbie said as she grabbed him by the forearms to keep him steady. "Are you ok?"

"Great, I'm good." He took a quick look at her outfit, and couldn't help but take notice that the silk-like material clung to her body like a second skin. "Not as good as you by the looks of it."

Abbie suddenly remember what she was wearing. Daniel watched as an embarrassed blush blossomed over her face, and he was surprised to realize just how relieved the sight made him. After he was sure she was ok, he turned his gaze to the regal woman who had been watching them with great interest. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

Lalida inclined her head. "I am Lalida. I am here to help your Abbie understand the Power of the Gods."

Daniel raised an eyebrow, making a quick decision to let the 'your Abbie' comment slide. "You have the Power of the Gods?" He turned to Abbie. "And you've been allowed to see it? How?"

Abbie pointed to the marble statue. She had to stifle her laugh as he did a double take, then proceeded to study the statue as if it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. She took the rare silence as an opportunity to ask Lalida a question.

"Lalida, in truth I find this a little hard to believe – based only on the fact that I wear a hat identical to the one on your that, you are prepared to allow me full access to the Power of the Gods?"

Lalida nodded and touched her hand to the pendant that hung from her neck. A faint whirring sound drew their attention to the side of the dome, where a screen had dropped from the ceiling. With another touch, a reel of video played.

Abbie walked towards the screen, a smile playing over her lips. The video was from at least six hours ago, when she and SG1 had first explored the domed structure. "You were monitoring us?"

"Yes," Lalida answered. "When you entered the dome, a series of failsafes were activated, alerting us not only to your presence, but also allowed us to record your movements and conversation. We were surprised when you returned, and even more so when we noticed your unusual attire. In fact, my colleagues and I found your leader's theories about the 'summer home' rather amusing."

"Jack tends to have that effect on people," Daniel smirked.

"I have no doubt. But I believe that we have talked enough for now." Lalida gave Daniel a once over. "We must get you properly attired and then we shall start. Doctor Jackson, these men will show you to a room where you may bathe and dress. Abbie, I will show you to our archives, we house them in the Nystdet Library."

Abbie's eyes lit up. She had always considered this the best part of her job – the chance to dig through another culture's past. And she couldn't help but feel a small thrill that this particular culture, whatever it may be, had gathered theirs into a library. Her mom had often teased her about her obsession with libraries, joking that Abbie had learned the Dewey Decimal system before she could speak. But, in truth, she felt more at home at the library than anywhere else. Other than her own bed, of course. But a library, or any place with shelves and shelves of books, scrolls, papers, computer files, anything, was her idea of heaven. And if that place happened to also hold one very attractive archeologist as well as all those other things, all the better.

Daniel didn't miss the excitement that brightened Abbie's face. He couldn't blame her – he was as eager as she was to get started with learning as much as he could about this place before Jack came and tried to blow it all up to find them.

". . . and Daniel will join us when he is ready," Lalida's voice filtered back into both of their minds.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Ok, then." He walked towards the door, followed closely by the guards, and paused just before exiting. He turned to Abbie, his eyes soft. "I'll be seeing you it a bit."

Abbie nodded and gave him an equally soft smile. "Absolutely."

He nodded, and let the guards guide him out into the hall.

Abbie drew in a sharp breath and exhaled, attempting to calm her mind. "Ok." She turned to Lalida, and in a move that reminded even her of Jack, she rubbed her hands together and smirked. "Take me to your library."

xxxxxxx

Jack directed Teal'c and Carter to take positions a few feet outside of the walled city where Sam had located Abbie's hat. Signaling the rest of his team to stay put, he made his way through the sparse greenery, snaked over to the headgear in question, grabbed it, and made his way back to his team.

"Well, unless this is a planet ruled by a highly advanced race of very ugly hat boxes, I'd say this is it."

"That's great, sir."

"Carter, just because you throw 'sir' at the end of that sentence doesn't mean I can't tell you're rolling your eyes at me on the inside."

"Of course, sir."

"I believe it would be best if we spent our time determining how to extract DanielJackson and AbbieWebber," Teal'c said.

"He's probably right," Jack agreed. "Carter, any ideas?"

"Well sir, the wall around this city looks very sound, and it doesn't look like any material I've seen. But I think that with a bit of C4 we could probably . . ." Sam abruptly stopped speaking, her head turning as if she was looking for something in the sky.

Jack slid his sunglasses down his nose. "Don't stop there, Carter – I usually like the plans that involve explosives."

"Can you hear that?" Sam asked.

"I too am hearing a faint humming noise MajorCarter." Teal'c confirmed.

Just as Teal'c spoke, Jack became aware of a small craft flying through the air towards them. He could immediately feel his body react to the potential threat, the surge of adrenaline causing him to take up a defensive position, knowing that his teammates were doing the same. "Carter?"

"It looks like a drone, sir," she answered. "Ancient design if I had to guess."

Teal'c aimed his staff weapon, ready to destroy the drone, knowing it was unwise for them to let it report back on their location and allow their enemy to have the advantage.

"Wait!" Jack called out.

Sam and Teal'c stared in surprise as the drone stopped two feet in front of them, turned in the air, and a small screen dropped from its belly.

"I swear, if that thing starts playing _Back to the Future III_ . . ." Jack muttered.

"Jack? Sam? Teal'c? You guys ok?" An image of Daniel appeared on the screen, flickering as the drone received the transmission. "Guys?"

"Daniel?" Sam asked.

"Where the hell are you?" Jack demanded.

"Yes, nice to see you too, Jack." Daniel sighed.

"DanielJackson, is AbbieWebber with you?"

_Always the voice of reason._ "Not at the moment, Teal'c, but she and I are both fine."

Jack and Sam visibly relaxed, both of them loosening their grips on their weapons.

"In fact, Abbie's in the library right now."

"Library, huh?" Jack smirked. "You sure you can talk, or did you want to go and drool over something dust covered?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and "We were sort of ambushed at the DHD by a group of the planet's inhabitants. So far we've been blindfolded, tied up, imprisoned, separated, and brought before a woman named Lalida, who is apparently the Keeper of this place."

"So, the usual, then," Jack said casually.

Daniel nodded. "We – well, Abbie, has made some progress in the way of the Power of the Gods. I can explain more when you guys get here."

Sam looked skeptical. "Daniel, how are we supposed to get in through that wall, let alone find where you are? I mean, I used the UAV to find the hat, but I wasn't able to get any images inside of the walls."

Daniel smiled. "Just follow the drone, it's programmed to allow you access to the city and it will find me once you're safely inside."

Jack noticed the smug, look on his friend's face. "And how did you manage that, exactly?"

"These people seem to be pretty friendly, I was able to speak with one of the guards here to let you in," Daniel explained. "But it probably has more to do with Abbie's newfound status as a long awaited and much trusted prophet."

"Prophet?" All three of them chorused together.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a story," Daniel sighed.

Jack looked first at Teal'c, then Carter, doing a quick survey that they were ok with following the yellow brick drone, as it were. "Ok, Daniel, we're on our way. See you when we see you."

* * *

**A/N** Shout out to: **E. Nagrom**, **starjems88**, **Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea** (Hi, Beta!), **katejones2005**, and **Aedammair** for leaving awesome and very appreciated reviews to the last chapter. Feel free to commence with the 'Shout Out Dance of Joy'. Ready? _Everybody Dance_. :) 


	11. Slumber Party

_**Chapter 11 - Slumber Party**_

"Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel turned away from the now blank screen at the sound of the guard's voice. "Marcus."

"I trust you were able to contact your teammates?"

"I was, thank you." Daniel watched as the man entered the room. Like the rest of the people he had seen throughout the city, Marcus was dressed in what he assumed was the standard guard uniform, a one piece jumpsuit made of out the same material that Abbie's, and now his, outfit was made of. When Lalida had said he would be getting cleaned up, he had a sneaking suspicion he'd end up in an outfit like Abbie's.

And, on principle, he had nothing against the clothes – he was used to dressing according to the culture he found himself in. And he was comfortable with his own body – deascension had given him some different and much less nervous or embarrassing views of the human form. But it wasn't his body he was worried about. When he had been brought into the main room of the dome, his initial fear for Abbie's safety had been replaced with his curiosity about the statue and the possibility of finding out what the Power of the Gods was. But now, having had some time to think, he couldn't put the image of Abbie out of his mind. The way the blue material matched her eyes, the way she stayed so calm until his comment had made her blush, the way the material clung-

"Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel dropped his head and gave a little smile. "I'm sorry, Marcus, repeat that for me."

"You will need to pay attention, Dr. Jackson," Marcus scolded as he approached Daniel and deactivated the communication system. "It was difficult to get permission for your team to enter the city, you would do well to at least show some appreciation."

"I am sorry, Marcus, and please know that I am grateful," Daniel assured the man. "It means a great deal to both Abbie and I that diplomatic relations between our people go well. You've made the first step in that, to allow the rest of our team in the city. I am sure that we will be able to make a similar gesture."

Marcus gave him a patronizing smile. "Yes, well, I doubt your planet will have anything we need."

Daniel gave him a thoughtful look. Although Lalida had not expressed a direct interest in trade, it was implied that, once Abbie had been shown the Power of the Gods, trade relations were naturally to follow. "You feel that there is nothing my people can offer you?"

"Nothing of value." Marcus continued his sweep around the room, pulling it back into the immaculate order it had been in before Daniel had bathed and changed. "We are a proud society, Doctor Jackson, one that has survived for thousands of years, thanks to the wisdom and knowledge passed down to us from Ezchoi. She was truly a remarkable woman, the likes of which we have never seen since. She guided us through many tough times, protected us when our own planet turned against us. It is only because of her that we were able to survive."

"Survive?" Daniel asked.

"Suffice it to say, Doctor, that this planet has not always been the safe haven that we once thought. It has been many thousands of years since we have experienced any dangers, and it shall remain that way, so long as the spirit of Ezchoi sees fit to protect us."

Daniel let Marcus' words roll around in his mind. "Your people believe that Ezchoi continues to watch over your planet as a spiritual being? It was my understanding that Abbie's presence here was considered a second coming of sorts."

"No doubt that is what Lalida lead you to believe." Marcus' voice was muffled behind all of the blue glass that enclosed the bathing area.

Daniel was starting to see where this was going. "You have doubts that Abbie could be this remarkable woman that your people have been waiting for."

Marcus did his best to hide his disgust, which wasn't all that much. "It is not my place to have doubts, Doctor Jackson. Lalida speaks for us, and she is convinced Abbie with be of great help."

"You didn't answer my question," Daniel pointed out.

Marcus gave him a sly smile as he gestured to the open door. "And I won't. These guards will show you to the Nystdet Library, Doctor."

Daniel turned to the now open door and saw two men who could challenge Teal'c's bench press record standing just outside of the room. Marcus continued to speak as he moved to leave the room. "I suggest you keep these questions to yourself for the time being. But remember this – the library is a place of great knowledge. From what I understand, you are one who, by nature, is curious about the past of others. I suggest you use that skill, Doctor. It will not fail you."

Daniel was slightly puzzled by the cryptic message Marcus had left him with as he allowed the guards to guide him down the corridor. But the question is, was it a message or a warning?

xxxxxxx

"Yes, thanks so much for the extra shove, it really helped me to make those last few steps."

Daniel's voice filtered through Abbie's thoughts, surprising her with uncharacteristic harshness. The guards in the city had been ruthlessly efficient with both of them, never causing them harm, but making sure they both knew who was really in charge. The strain of the day was starting to catch up with him if he was letting something as small as being forcefully guided around the city get under his skin. She raised her head from the text she was reading as Daniel approached her side, ready to distract with a few ideas she wanted to bounce off of him. But the second he stepped into view, placing his forearms on the books to her right to get a good look at a particular text, something inside her snapped.

She clapped her hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to keep for bursting out laughing.

"Don't even think it," Daniel threatened as he kept his gaze on the words written on the page.

"I wasn't . . . I just . . ." Abbie's voice trailed off, unable to get enough air to her lungs from suppressing what she would later claim was not a giggle.

"Just say it."

"Say what?"

"You know what."

"I don't, actually."

"_**Abbie**_."

"_**Daniel**_."

Daniel let his head drop on his arms. "Just get it over with."

"I have absolutely nothing to say." Abbie's voice was as innocent as she could make it. Then she broke out in a brilliant smile. "Other than I didn't take you for a closet 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' fan."

Daniel let his head fall to rest on his arms. "Yes, well, at least mine aren't as shiny as yours are."

Abbie used that comment as an excuse to give Daniel the once over. He was wearing pretty much the same thing she was, a sleeveless top and pajama pants made out of the same silk like material, but his were a blue so dark it was almost black. And, just as he had said, it had less of a sheen then her own clothing did. However, like her own attire, it fit like a glove, molding to his skin and following every movement of his muscles as he picked his head up to look her in the eye.

Daniel watched as Abbie's head jerked up and, unless he was mistaken, her eyes fixed on a point as far away from him as possible, the skin on her neck and face tinting a furious shade of red. "Abbie? You ok?"

"Yeah, um, I'm fine, uh, fine," Abbie stuttered out the words, again thanking whatever deity was listening that this wasn't a mind reading planet.

Daniel nodded. He doubted she was going to tell him what was actually going on in her mind, despite the sneaking suspicion he would share her thoughts. "I guess now I really know how Sam felt all those years ago on Simarka."

"That's true," she agreed. "And from what she told me, the shade of blue is alarmingly similar," she frowned as she examined her own top.

"Oh, I don't know," Daniel said as he ran a casual eye down Abbie's body. "Sam's didn't bring out her eyes quite as much as that top does yours"  
The blush returned with a vengeance, causing Daniel to smile in what he knew was his most charming manor.

"Yes, well, you're just lucky I don't have my camera anymore," she said in a vain attempt to distract herself from the way Daniel was looking at her. "There are a lot of people back at the SGC who would pay good money for pictures of you dressed up like Hugh Heffner."

Daniel clasped his hand over his heart. "Ouch!"

"Sorry," amusement clear in her voice. "It's just that . . . finding out you're the person this planet has been waiting a millennia to share a secret with can play tricks with a girl's mind."

Daniel sobered immediately. In the midst of their playful banter, the reason why they were there had been pushed to the back of his mind. "I almost forgot. How are you dealing with that?" he asked softly.

"Better than expected, actually," Abbie admitted. "Most of which probably has to do with this place."

Daniel took a moment to sweep his gaze around the archives. A massive room, again glassed in with the now familiar blue tint, filled to brimming with rows and rows of books and scrolls, stretching farther then he could see.

"It actually reminds me of 'The Beauty and the Beast'," Abbie admitted.

Daniel nodded absently. "The library in the Beast's house."

"Exactly!" Abbie turned and gave Daniel a challenging look. "Wait. When have you seen 'Beauty and the Beast'?"

"Uh, Cassie made me watch it?" Daniel gave her his most dazzlingly smile in a desperate attempt to avoid any and all parts of this conversation.  
Abbie stared him down. "You watched it with Teal'c, didn't you?"

"Um . . . "

"Several times."

"Not recently or anyth-"

"At last week's movie night."

Daniel dropped his head back down on his arms. "Ok! It's Teal'c favourite movie, and Jack's a pushover for the "Be Our Guest" song. Now, can we get back to the mission, please?"

Abbie smiled triumphantly. "Whatever you say."

"Thank you."

"Lumiere."

Daniel lifted his head enough to glare at her, but she just smiled and started to dig through her notes. He couldn't remember any woman he had ever known that could push his buttons so effectively to get him to say things he didn't really want to admit out loud. And what bothered him the most wasn't that she had gotten under his skin so easily – it was the fact that he liked it that kept him up at night.

"While you were getting dressed, I managed to find out a few things." She gently pushed Daniel over so she could reach the book he had been leaning on. "This one goes into a little bit of history about Ezchoi."

"The woman whose statue we just saw wearing your hat."

"Yup. Turns out she was an assistant of one of the Ancients who was using this planet as a home base." She slid the text over so he could do a quick read through of his own. "Apparently they were conducting experiments on the soil here."

Daniel took a minute to skim through the information. "It says here that they discovered some," he mumbled to himself as he translated the text, "'unusual explosive properties'?".

Abbie nodded. "That's really all that's said about Ezchoi herself, other that she also chose the area for the city to be built on, but this one," she grabbed a scroll to her left, "explains a little more about the soil and the Power of the Gods, with a strange reference to some climate readings. Essentially, the Power of the Gods is a claylike soil that explodes when it comes into contact with heat or even the smallest amount of energy."

"Sounds like plastique to me."

Both Abbie and Daniel turned to see Jack, Sam, and Teal'c standing in the doorway.

"You just want to be able to blow something up, Jack." Daniel accused.

Jack smirked. "I fail to see the problem with that."

Abbie laughed at the easy banter between the two of them. "I'm just glad to see you all. How much trouble did you get in to find us?"

"It was no trouble at all, AbbieWebber," Teal'c explained. "MajorCarter was able to locate your pimp hat using the unmanned aerial vehicle."

"Yeah, good idea by the way. The blue really did show up against the sand with no problem," Sam said.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Great, Sam. Now I owe her ten bucks."

"American," Abbie reminded him. "Not Canadian – learned that the hard way with McKay."

Sam gave Daniel a mock frown as the three of them made their way to the opposite side of the table. "Daniel, I thought we agreed you'd stop betting against the women of the SGC?"

"I know, I know – I always end up losing," Daniel smiled. "Did you have any problems getting into the city?"

"Nope. That little drone led us straight to you." Jack unclipped his P90 and set it down on the table in front of him.

"Drone?" Abbie asked.

"DanielJackson instructed a drone to guide us to your location, AbbieWebber," Teal'c informed her. "It proved to be a most effective means to gain access to this city."

"Yeah, yeah, we came, we saw, we followed the drone," Jack waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "Can we get back to the part about the explosives?"

"Well," Abbie said, "I was just telling Daniel that I found a few references to the Power of the Gods, and, as you said, Jack, it sounds a lot like our plastique back home." She reached out and pulled a book out of the pile Lalida had provided and slid it over the table to Sam. "This one gives a description of the basic chemical composition. I figured my high school chemistry wouldn't cut it, so I though you could take a look at it."

Sam started to flip through the pages. "This is a lot of work. I couldn't do this much research if I had a lifetime."

Daniel nodded. "That makes sense. It was one of the Ancients, someone named . . ."

"I have no idea," Abbie admitted. "But, I am sure that he or she had a human assistant, a woman named Ezchoi-"

"Bless," Jack interrupted.

"-who was entrusted with keeping the secret of the Power of the Gods and making sure it was passed down to each generation." Abbie smiled at Jack as she continued her explanation.

Sam nodded her head in understanding. "So that would explain the statue we passed on the way here. The detail on the hat was frighteningly accurate."

"Who knew it was such an intergalactic fashion statement?" Jack deadpanned.

"AbbieWebber, is it your belief that the Keeper will allow you to obtain a sample of the powerful substance for our study and analysis?" Teal'c asked.

Abbie gave him a smile, grateful for the reprieve from Jack's teasing. "I think so, Teal'c. Lalida, the Keeper, said that the decision was not completely up to her, but that I was to remain here until she came back with the final word. She was confident it would be in our favour"  
"How long ago was that?" Sam was unable to hide her eagerness to get her hands on this explosive substance.

Abbie took a quick look at her watch. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Well, would it have been before or after the slumber party?" Jack asked innocently.

Sam covered a snicker as Daniel and Abbie flushed red. In their excitement at discovering something new, both seemed to have forgotten their unusual attire, something Sam didn't point out for exactly that reason. She thought it was cute when they got worked up over something, even if the end result was often some random translation breakthrough that no one but the two of them understood.

"That colour is most befitting, AbbieWebber," Teal'c broke the silence. "Perhaps you will be permitted to retain the outfit for your own personal use back on Earth."

"Thanks, Teal'c," Abbie said wearily, desperately looking anywhere but at Daniel. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Actually, Jack, we didn't have much choice about these," Daniel gestured to his own clothes. "Before we were allowed access to the library, we had to bathe."

"Together?"

"Sir!"

"What?" Jack's eyes sparkled as he teased his teammates. "I'm the team leader, I need to know these things."

"I can assure you, Colonel, that your team conducted themselves in a thoroughly professional manner."

The group turned to the sound of Lalida's voice as she entered the room. "Although I'm not sure I'll be able to say the same for you."

Abbie felt the need to make some formal introductions – even if it was as much to calm herself down as it was to inject some normality into the strange situation. "Lalida, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c."

"Your Highness," Jack gave her a nod.

Choosing to ignore Jack, Daniel turned to Lalida. "Has a decision been reached?"

"Yes, it has." Lalida turned to Abbie. "We have decided that Abbie shall be allowed to view the Power of the Gods, along with one other team member of her choosing. We will also permit you to retain a sample of the soil for your own analysis."

"We appreciate this opportunity, Lalida," Abbie thanked her. "I hope that this is the beginning of formal diplomatic relations between our people."

Lalida gave Abbie a tight smile. "As do I. Now, time is of the essence – who will be accompanying you?"

"Sam. And don't say a word, you two, because she's the one with the chemical and technical skills to be able to understand all of this." Abbie didn't need to turn around to know that both Jack and Daniel had their mouths open, ready to protest her choice.

Jack turned to Daniel. "She's right, you know."

Daniel gave a reluctant sigh. "She usually is."

"And that's why you end up losing as many bets as you do, Daniel," Sam teased. "We'll be fine."

"I can vouch for their safety, Dr. Jackson," Lalida promised. "I get the distinct impression I will be held directly responsible for any foreseeable dangers by Teal'c."

Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed."

Jack clasps his hands and rubbed them together. "Well, since that's all settled, is there a game room around here somewhere?"

"Actually, Colonel, as we were talking I took the liberty of arranging a bath for you, as well as a set of clothes like Dr. Jackson's, since you expressed such an interest in our traditional dress," Lalida smiled. "And it is your choice if Teal'c joins you or not."

Even Teal'c couldn't prevent a smile at the look of pure panic etched across Jack's face.

"That, uh, that won't be necessary," Daniel assured Lalida for a tongue tied Colonel. "But thank you."

"Very well then. Abbie, Major Carter, if you will come with me."

Sam and Abbie followed Lalida out of the library, both women shooting _Be Good_ looks at the boys.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry about the length of this chapter – it just kept going and going and going and . . . well, you get the point! Hope everyone enjoyed – some of my favourite funny moments are in this chapter. And, again, major thanks to **E. Nagrom**, **katejones2005**, **starjems88**, and **Aedammair**, all who reviewed the last chapter, and to **USDA-Certified Organic **for the link to more Fic terms. Really appreciate it, guys! 


	12. Move & Shake

**_Chapter 12 - Move & Shake_**

"Do you think it would have been inappropriate for me to mention to Lalida that I don't wear anything when I go to bed, let alone silk pajamas?" Jack asked as he watched the door close.

"Probably," Daniel said as he sank into one of the chairs surrounding the large table.

Teal'c followed Daniel's actions and lowered himself into one of the chairs facing the door. "How long will AbbieWebber and MajorCarter be studying the Power of the Gods?"

"I'm not really sure," Daniel admitted. "Probably as long as it takes for Sam to get a sample and for Abbie to ask all of her questions."

Jack wandered the shelves of books, giving a low whistle. "Wow. This place could give the Library of Congress a run for its money." He poked his head out of one of the aisles to address Daniel. "I bet the two of you had fun in here, all by yourselves."

Daniel's eyes narrowed at the tone of Jack's voice. "Are you trying to imply something, Jack?"

"Who, me? Never." Jack grinned at the younger man. "I'm just merely counting the facts. You and Dr. Webber, in a room chock full of books and scrolls and all manner of other dusty things, and silk pajamas." He disappeared back into the sea of texts. "If that isn't the idea of heaven for both of you, then I don't know what is."

Daniel looked at Teal'c. "Help me out here."

"I cannot, DanielJackson," Teal'c gave his friend a kind look. "O'Neill is not the only one to observe sparkage between yourself and AbbieWebber."

Daniel stated incredulously at the former First Prime. "Sparkage?"

"T's been watching _Gilmore Girls_ with Cassie again," Jack's muffled voice filtered through the large room. "She insists that it's a necessary part of his continuing cultural education. Now, myself on the other hand, I believe that with a few more episodes of _The Simpsons_ and – HELLO!"

"What?" Daniel called out.

"How much time did you guys get to search this place?"

"Not much. Why?"

"Because we may have a problem." Jack emerged with a large book in his hand, layered with what looked like decades of dust. "Does that say _The Duality of Power: History_ -"

"-_and Horror_, yes it does." Daniel pulled the book from Jack's grasp and immediately started flipping the pages, translating the Ancient language as he read. "Where did you find this?"

"It was on the shelf there," Jack hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "Right there in front of a pile of other books."

Daniel adjusted his glasses from slipping down his nose. "I don't understand. This is a complete history of Ergonis. Why wouldn't Lalida have included it with the books she collected for Abbie, she specifically request historical and geographical-" Daniel abruptly stopped talking, his eyes growing wide.

Teal'c lifted himself out of the chair and walked to stand at Daniel's side. "What is it, DanielJackson?"

Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times, but seemed unable to form any kind of explanation. _I must have read that wrong_, the thought echoed through his mind.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud . . ." Jack took the book from Daniel's unresisting hands and read the page he had been staring at. "Holy . . . this is not good." Jack reached for his radio. "Carter? Dr. Webber?" He waited for a moment before trying to contact them again. "We need to figure out where Lalida took them, right now."

"O'Neill?"

"It's not good, T. According to this book here, Ergonis was built on a part of the planet with some pretty serious seismic activity. Now, normally I would leave this kind of thing to Carter, but basically what we're looking at here is-"

"Earthquakes." Daniel interrupted Jack, who nodded at the archeologist.

"Big honkin' earthquakes." Jack opened the book to a page with what looked like statistical data and showed it to Teal'c. "See that? That's what we usually refer to on Earth as a Richter Scale. It's a measurement of how powerful an earthquake is."

Daniel managed to get his voce back long enough to offer up an explanation. "It seems that Lalida's people have technology that far surpasses our own for the prediction of earthquakes. That book is a historical account of the last major event that occurred." His face contorted into a small frown. "Although I guess they call them something different here."

Jack waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "They can call them achoo-quakes for all I care. What matters is that this guy seems to think this planet is headed for another major event. And soon. Carter, Dr. Webber, please come in," Jack tried his radio again as he put the book down on the table

Daniel snatched the book off the table, convinced that a second, more thorough reading would provide some useful information. A few pages in, he knew he was right. "Jack, it says here that the Ancients were able to stop the earthquakes from happening, thanks to the technology they had set up for their experiments regarding the Power of the Gods."

"That would explain the monitoring systems that MajorCarter was studying in the domed structure, DanielJackson," Teal'c said. "She was most interested in the seismic and landmass stress data that was being recorded.

Daniel nodded. "It would also explain the modifications that had been made to sustain human life. They must have had people stationed there to relay the data back to the main city once the Ancients had left. And, hopefully, the fact that we found it devoid of human life means that they really do have the earthquakes under control and we shouldn't be concerned about experiencing one while we're here." He took another glace at the book. "Yup – we're perfectly safe, Jack"  
Jack was about to respond when a distinctive rumbling noise could be heard, shaking the overhead lights and causing a fair amount of dust to attack them from above.

"What was it you were saying about 'perfectly safe', Daniel?" Jack inquired in his most polite tone.

Daniel shot Jack a scorching look, but before he could reply, something in his mind clicked. "Jack, did you see any more history books in there? Something about another land mass or another society, mostly likely not written in Ancient?"

Jack gave him a 'wait a sec' motion with his hands and disappeared back into the abyss that was the library's endless stacks.

Teal'c walked to stand at Daniel's side. He had seen that look on his friend before – and it usually meant something very important was about to be uncovered. "What are you thinking, DanielJackson?"

"Abbie mentioned something to me, a conversation she had with a young woman. It's been on both of our minds, and I think I may have just figured out why." He offered Teal'c a small smile. "And I'm praying that I'm wrong."

Teal'c looked at his clearly troubled teammate and nodded. "It is my hope as well."

"This was the only other thing that look promising," Jack called out as he emerged from the rows of books. "It's small, but it was on the same shelf." He handed over a small red covered book, with the words _Ergonis & Erusm: A World Divided_ emblazoned on the front.

Daniel quickly ripped open the cover and skimmed the first few pages. "Damn." The more he read, the less happy he became. "_Damn_." As Jack and Teal'c watched, he flipped quickly through to the final chapter, for the conclusion the author promised as the solution to all of the planet's problems. And then he swore. A lot.

"T, is that a swearword record?"

"I believe not, O'Neill. You are forgetting the time DoctorLee hid small deposits of a substance that mimicked naquadah around DanielJackson's office in order to test a new detection technology and neglected to remove the one on his chair."

"True. But did he use that many languages that time?"

Teal'c bowed his head slightly in agreement. "He did not."

Jack raised his fist in triumph, then turned to the obviously concerned archeologist. "So, Daniel, tell us what's got your pj's in a twist?"

Daniel looked at them over the edge of his glasses, a gesture Jack knew was a classic 'you're about to get a lecture' move. "As you already know, Ergonis is the city we are in right now – we had originally thought it was the only city, given that the UAV didn't pick up on any structures other than the temple we originally came back here to study. This," he waved the book in their face, "is an account of the civil war this planet has been engaged in for the past 2000 years."

"Bummer." Jack stopped to think for a minute. "But wait – if you're fighting a war, there is usually some pretty clear indication of a fight going on. We didn't see anything – no ground troops, no air support, no spent ammo, no destruction – hell, there isn't even any litter!"

"That's because this war isn't being fought above ground." Daniel gave a soft sigh and laid the book on the table. "Remember how I said the earthquakes were under control?"

Jack nodded and turned to Teal'c, who mirrored his action.

Daniel slid the book across the table so that Jack and Teal'c could read it. "That's why."

Jack snapped into a standing position, his hand flying to his radio. "Major Carter, Dr. Webber, now would be a very good time to respond."

Teal'c caught the grin look on the face of both his teammates. "Indeed."

* * *

**A/N:** Dun dun DUNNN. Hee. I love a good mystery! Sorry about the delay in new chapters – been having some trouble getting Word to work with so I finally had to suck it up and use Notepad. So if there are any errors, it's Notepad's fault! Major thanks to **E. Nagrom**, **katejones2005**, **Aedammair**, and **starjems88** for the kind words – reviews are always given cookies and a warm blanket. Thanks guys! 


	13. Need To Know

_**Chapter 13 - Need To Know**_

"Now I know how Dr. Lee's mice feel."

Sam gave a sideways glance at Abbie's whispered comment. "What?"

"You know," Abbie waved her hand around. "Last month he and another doctor, Beckett, I think, were conducting experiments with mice that were given the Ancient gene therapy Bill's been developing. Something about trying to explain why they were glowing under UV light."

Sam stifled a laugh. "At least it's just these button things and not us that are glowing."

Abbie gave a noncommittal shrug. She and Sam were currently being led through a series of tunnels by an oddly silent Lalida. She assumed they were under the city, if the constant popping of her ears were anything to go by. It was pitch black, save for the blue glowing objects Abbie had seen on the search party that had met her and Daniel at the DHD. Lalida had insisted they wear them.

"They're probably for tracking our movements," Sam continued speculating. "Make sure we don't get lost." She picked at the spot where hers had been attached to her vest.

"Yeah, wouldn't want that to happen," Abbie muttered. She checked her watch for what felt like the twelfth time. It had been ten minutes since she and Sam had left the boys in the library and followed Lalida to find out more about the Power of the Gods. So far, all she's learned was that she liked the dark about as much as she liked desert planets.

"It is not much farther," Lalida's voice was slightly muffled as she followed a path through the twisting corridors. "I apologize for the long walk, but it was necessary to store the substance you refer to as the Power of the Gods in a safe place, so as to ensure not only that it remained in the hands of those who understand it, but also to prevent accidents from occurring."

"Have those happened in the past?" Abbie asked. "Accidents involving your people and this substance?"

Lalida opened her mouth to answer, but was stopped by a violent shudder that coursed through the corridor, causing all three women to be thrown to the dirt covered ground. By the time Sam was on her feet and helping Abbie and Lalida regain their balance, Abbie was red faced and down one hair tie.

Sam tightened her bulletproof vest and did a quick visual check of herself and Abbie for any injuries. Finding none, she turned to Lalida, intent on asking a few pointed questions about the obvious seismic activity they had just experienced.

Abbie beat her to it. "Ok, _that_ was an earthquake."

"It was just a tremor, we experience them occasionally." Lalida's shaky tone gave voice to the fact that she was not telling the entire truth, a fact Sam pointed out.

"It was more than a tremor - it was a pretty significant shift of a land mass." She turned towards Abbie. "It was a 5, at least."

Lalida raised an eyebrow in question. "Five?"

"Yes, on Earth we use a scale to rate and compare how much damage an earthquake has caused - we call it a Richter scale magnitude," Sam explained. "The closer the number is to 10, the more serious the quake is considered."

"I see," Lalida adjusted her cloak and tried to avoid their eyes. "I can assure you, we are in no danger. But as a precaution, let us hurry into our research facility, we will be safe there." Lalida ushered the two women through the door that stood before them.

"Safe?" Abbie cried incredulously as she was pushed over the threshold and into a room that looked almost identical to the many science labs scattered around the SGC. She watched as Lalida closed and secured the door behind them, looking more annoyed than concerned for their safety.

"Lalida, is there something more about that tremor that I need to know?"

Sam watched as Lalida ignored Abbie's question and instead walked over to what she guessed was a refrigerated storage unit on the other side of the lab. She opened the door, pulled out a small blue container and placed it on the table in front of Abbie.

"This is what you know as the Power of the Gods. I hope this sample is large enough for your analysis," Lalida directed her words at Sam. "We've found it problematic to keep quantities any larger than this."

Sam nodded as she picked up the small container and unscrewed the lid, talking a quick peek at the yellowish substance.

Abbie couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It was as if all of the hair on the back of her neck was standing up in a defensive reaction, but she couldn't put her finger on why. Major Torres had nicknamed it her Super Geek Sense - since it always seemed to attack her nervous system whenever something academically fascinating turned into something life threatening, especially when the goa'uld were around. But in this case, she had a feeling it was more a case of missing information than a potentially deadly historical record.

"This is more than enough, Lalida, thank you," Sam as she placed the small container in her vest pocket. "Once we complete our analysis I can have someone bring a copy of the report for you."

"That won't be necessary, Major Carter," Lalida assured her. "Our level of technology is far superior to yours, thanks to the Ancients - I doubt your report would have anything new to offer to our scientists."

"Speaking of offer, what did your council decide would be on our side of the exchange?" Abbie had provided Lalida with a list of items and technology the SGC was willing to provide in trade for the substance currently sitting in Sam's pocket.

Lalida gave her a patronizing smile. "Sadly, none of the items were of much value to our people. Although, a member of the city staff, a young man named Marcus brought some information to the council-s attention. He had an interesting conversation with Doctor Jackson - they spoke about a world called Madrona."

Sam nodded in recognition. "Yes, we initially called it PX7-941. The people of Madrona had a weather system that was controlled by-"

"Sam, don't say another word," Abbie interrupted.

Lalida made a dismissive gesture. "It does not matter, Doctor Webber, we already have the information about the Touchstone, as well as the gate address for their planet." A smirk graced her lips. "The laptop Major Carter provided us proved to be quite useful."

Sam frowned. The laptop was standard as part of the initial flow of information between Earth and a new potential trade partner, and didn't hold anything as specific as gate addresses. She looked from Lalida to Abbie, concerned and a little confused at the glare her friend was now directing at the diplomatic representative. "I'm sorry, I think I missed something here."

"I _know_ I missed something," Abbie echoed as she continued her staring contest with Lalida. "I've never seen any government of any kind act so trustingly to a group from off world in the span of a few hours √ not even the time Jack discovered that the inhabitants on P9C-894 played a game identical to hockey."

Sam suppressed a snort of laughter. It had been hell trying to get the Colonel off of 894 - especially after he won their version of a Stanley Cup and had to be forcefully removed from the trophy's handle before stepping back through the gate. But something told her Abbie was heading somewhere with this. After all, she had seen Daniel make conclusions, usually crucial ones, out of what looked like thin air more times than she could count.

"But neither have I ever seen anyone gain access to what is considered a planet's most precious resource based only on the fact that one of the off-worlders," Abbie made an face that clearly indicated she was talking about herself, "happens to bear a striking resemblance to a statue of the woman who is apparently the foundation of your entire society. Never. And that makes me uneasy. Why?"

Lalida eyes gave way to a brief glimpse of doubt, but she refused to back down.

"Because you're not telling us something," Abbie answered her own question, her voice thick with a quiet challenge. "I asked for information on your planet. Historical, sociological, political, all of it. What I got was volumes and volumes on how nice the weather was and how great all of the Ancients made this planet. One mention of a second society that shared this land with you. One mention out of a hundred. Want to tell me why?"

"Our history is just that, Doctor Webber - in the past. It was deemed not to be relevant to our current talks with your Earth government's request to establish diplomatic relations with my people." Lalida voice resonated with an air of finality.

"I think controlled earthquakes being used as a destructive weapon are 'relevant'!" Abbie spat out.

_". . . Carter, Dr. Webber, now . . . very . . . respond."_

Jack's voice, barely audible over the static of the radio, snapped Sam into action. She grabbed her handset to respond, but froze when she felt the unmistakable point of an arrow at the back of her neck. Careful not to move too quickly, she slowly craned her face to the side, confirming her fear that Abbie was in the same situation. Deciding the time had most definitely passed for casual conversation, Sam turned to Lalida and switched into tactical mode. "What is going on?"

Lalida simply gestured to the two extra guards who had entered the lab, ignoring Sam's question. They quickly responded to her unspoken commands, and moved to stand directly in front of Sam and Abbie, holding their own weapons pointed directly at the two teammates.

Lalida moved so that she was standing directly behind the guards now preventing Sam or Abbie from moving an inch. "I am sorry, Doctor Webber, that this couldn't have worked out differently."

"No you're not!" Abbie spat out.

"No, perhaps not." A small smile twisted at the corner of Lalida's lips. "But I can say that, for all the brilliance you and your team seem to possess, you are easily fooled."

"Fooled?" Sam was staring to get tired of this little back and forth game and was mentally counting how many grenades she had brought with her.

"There was no real reason for us to continue our negotiations once we were in possession of the laptop and confirmed its information with our own," Lalida explained. "The database of planets the Ancients left behind was most thorough, and provided us with the gate address of Madrona. As we speak, a small contingent is preparing for travel through the Stargate."

"And then what? Ask nicely and they'll hand over the Touchstone?"

Sam glared at Abbie, knowing that her sarcastic outburst wasn't going to help. The last thing they needed was Lalida to get angry and decide that the two of them were better off no longer breathing. "But what makes you think the Touchstone will be helpful at all? I've had the chance to study the technology, and it's beyond the comprehension of even our most noted seismologists - and certainly no match for the monitoring equipment left by the Ancients."

"Our scientists have assured me we'll be able to adapt the technology to be compatable with our own systems."

Sam started to get a sinking feeling in her stomach. "For what purpose? The weather here is perfect."

"Because they're starting to lose control of the earthquakes." Abbie risked another one of Sam's death glares. "That's why you've been concealing the existence of the other society. You've been using the Ancients' technology against them and causing earthquakes in their regions of the planet."

"And you think the Touchstone will allow you to regain that control." The truth hit Sam's mind like a staff blast to the gut.

"Enough!" Lalida stalked over to the door of the laboratory and threw it open in a clear display of anger. "I will not tolerate any more of your questions. You will remain here until it is decided what is to become of you and the rest of your team."

Abbie stared at the door as it slammed closed. "Wow. Somebody's been taking system lord lessons."

"No kidding." Sam agreed.

"Well," Abbie gave the man currently pointing a weapon at her a once over, "this is not good, is it?"

Sam sighed. "Nope. But know what?"

Abbie cranked her neck to face her friend. "What?"

"We've been through worse."

"True. On three, then?"

Sam gave a shrug. "Works for me."

"THREE!" Both women shouted at the same time, using the split second of distraction it provided to execute a few well placed punches that sent the guards crashing to the ground, out cold.

Sam looked slightly surprised as Abbie quickly disarmed the guard who had been covering her, checking the weapon and making sure it was ready for use.

"What?" Abbie asked.

"Well, you know, it's just that . . . to go off-world, all civilians go through the required self defense training, weapons and everything, I know that. But, other than Daniel, I"ve never seen a civilian move so fast," Sam admitted.

"The first rule of being an anthropologist is you've gotta be fast to protect what's yours." Abbie gave a quick smile. "Especially in the doughnut department - you should see Nyan going for the last frosted sprinkle. Fingers have been sacrificed."

Sam laughed, then straighten her vest and motioned for Abbie to follow her to the door. "I think it's about time we got out of here, or at least get back up to the surface. The guys will start to wonder were we are since I can't seem to get the radio to work down here, and I'm under strict orders not to get you killed."

Abbie stopped in her tracks. "You too? That's it -Torres is dead when I get home."

Sam just smiled and pulled the mechanism that released the lock on the door. Pulling her zat from the holster on her thigh and crouching down into a defensive position, she gave Abbie the signal that she could open the door. Almost immediately, she fired off two shots, bringing down the guards on either side of the door. Making a quick sweep of the corridor, she pronounced it free of any threats and motioned Abbie to join her.

The two walked through the maze of hallways, retracing their own footprints from their earlier walk to the lab. "Well, that was fairly easy," Abbie said as they approached the elevator contraption that had delivered them below the surface of the planet. "What are the chances this thing will be the same?"

Sam took a moment to examine the control panel. "Well, my best guess is that it's a system built by the Ancients, but that Lalida's people modified it so they could control how the technology worked. Probably in an attempt to keep it safe from exactly what I'll need to do to it."

"How long?"

Sam slid the zat back into its place, then knelt to get a better look at the panel. "Don't know. Could take a bit, but I'm thinking that if I just override the main control crystal, I should be able to reverse-"

Her explanation was interrupted by the sound of the elevator starting up. Standing up quickly, Sam motioned for Abbie to take up position on the other side of the doors, knowing that this could be their only change at getting out of there. Deciding the situation called for something a little more serious then a zat, Sam shouldered her P90 and aimed at the elevator, just as the doors began to slide open.

* * *

**A/N:** Cliffhanger ending? Who me? Never. :) The good news is that the final few chapters are written and awaiting a spin through the awesome brain of my beta, **Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea**. So once she's finished ripping it to shreds (mostly kidding), I will post the chapters! That's how it works, kids! Thanks so much to everyone for reading and leaving reviews - always makes my day. 


	14. False Advertising

**A/N:** Hello! So, as it turns out, I accidentally posted the wrong chapter for #14 - this is the right one. Thanks to **KaeKaeD** for pointing it out - I owe you a cookie! It's all fixed, so if you read it again, it should make much more sense!

* * *

_**Chapter 14 - False Advertising**_

"Jeeze, Carter, watch were you point that thing."

"Abbie! Sam! You're ok!"

"I am relieved to see that you are both undamaged, MajorCarter and AbbieWebber."

The breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding left Abbie in a rush as she lowered her weapon, just as relieved to see the rest of her team standing in the elevator.

"Sir!" Sam exclaimed. "How did you get down here?"

Jack gave his 2IC a strange look. "I'm pretty sure it's called an 'elevator', Carter,""

Abbie rolled her eyes. "I think she means did you run into any trouble getting down here. You know, guards trying to shoot you and such?"

"A little trouble, nothing we couldn't handle," Jack waved his P90 meaningfully. "Spent most of the time keeping Daniel from bouncing out of his pajamas."

Daniel frowned at his friend as he placed a hand on Abbie's arm and gently pulled her into the elevator just as Teal'c did the same to Sam. "I wasn't bouncing, Jack."

"You were most excited, DanielJackson, and eager to locate AbbieWebber in order to discuss your most recent theory concerning this world. It resulted in a most impressive display of vertical escalation," Teal'c stated.

Jack grinned as he punched the button that would return them to the surface. "Like a kangaroo."

Abbie and Sam laughed at their teammate's comments. They all had been witnesses to Daniel's special brand of the excited happy dance, amusing at all times and in all places. "What did you find, Daniel?" Sam asked, hoping to stifle any more creative comments from her CO.

"Yes, Daniel, what was it that got you hopping?" Abbie did her best to feign an air of innocence.

"Very funny." Daniel gave her arm a quick poke. "We found out that Lalida has been less than forthcoming with the truth about her reasons for sharing the Power of the Gods with us." He paused, clearing thinking things through in his mind. "Which, by the way you and Sam were covering the elevator when we found you, I'm guessing you had already suspected."

Sam nodded her agreement. "Leaving us in a locked room with two armed guards was pretty telling."

"What did you find, exactly?" Abbie asked, all trace of humour replaced with the need to know.

Daniel recognized that look, and knew it was time for the truth. "Jack uncovered a book in the library that I'd say was as close to being hidden as you can possibly get, no way we would have noticed it over all of the other texts Lalida had provided for us. Turned out to be a fairly thorough description of the experiments the Ancients had been conducting on the Power of the Gods substance in the soil, and explained how the Ergonins modified it to relay that information back to their own city once the Ancients had left." He paused. "The book also described the earthquakes the city had experienced prior to the arrival of the Ancients."

Abbie's eyes widened as she made the connections in her mind. "They learned how to control the earthquakes, didn't they?"

Daniel nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"And just as Daniel assured me we were 'perfectly safe', we heard something that was remarkably earthquake-like," Jack filled in. "Shook the lights and everything."

"We were concerned for your welfare," Teal'c said, "as we were unsure of your exact location."

"We were tossed to the floor, but nothing major." Sam shrugged.

Abbie snorted. "Speak for yourself, Major. I have no idea how I'm going to explain to Janet how I got some of the lovely bruises I'm sure will make an appearance by the time we get home."

Daniel felt a rush of concern as Jack and Sam laughed. "Are you ok?" he murmured into her ear, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable in front of the team.

"I'm fine," Abbie whispered back, fighting the blush she just knew was creeping up her neck at his closeness. Raising her voice a little to keep her mind occupied, "Lost a hair tie, but it was the only casualty."

"Well, that and the three guards still unconscious in the lab." Sam let slip a little smile at the approving look from Jack. "That's when Abbie started to put things together."

Daniel looked at his fellow linguist. "Did Lalida say anything about a civil war?"

"She alluded to it. She claims that the laptop we gave her allowed her people to confirm the gate address to PX7-941. She's sending a team."

"Madrona," Daniel muttered. "They think the Touchstone will help them retake control of the earthquakes."

"Well, we can't let them do that!" Sam exclaimed. "It would ruin their planet's entire weather system!"

"Plus, it was hell trying to get it back the first time," Jack agreed.

"Would it be possible to prevent Lalida and her people from traveling to PX7-941 through the Stargate without damaging our ability to return to the SGC?" Teal'c asked.

"Possibly," Sam replied. "If we get to the Stargate first, I should be able to remove a control crystal and prevent them from dialing out."

Jack raised his line of vision to the top of the elevator. "If we move fast, we should be able to make decent time back through the desert. That is, if this thing ever gets to the surface." Jack turned to Teal'c. "Have you ever been on such a slow moving contraption?"

Teal'c took a moment to ponder the question before answering. "I have, O'Neill. I believe it was the first time you drove Major Carter, DanielJackson and I in your brand new motor vehicle equal to that of three hundred equines."

Jack stared at the big man. "Ok, just because I'm careful about my new truck does not mean-"

"Two teenagers on human powered wheeled devices made from metal overtook the vehicle."

"They also slapped on a bumper sticker that read 'Forget the Joneses. I keep up with The Simpsons.'" Sam laughed at the look on Jacks face. "Don't worry, sir, I managed to scrape it off before too many people saw it."

Jack waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I knew about the sticker. I'm not upset about that. It's just . . . they misspelt 'Simpsons'."

Teal'c looked to Daniel for confirmation. He raised his pointer and middle finger. "Two 'm's."

"Well, back to the matter at hand, which appears to be. . . " Jack's voice trailed off as he stared at something general direction of the elevator's control panel. Sam, Teal'c and Daniel followed his gaze and turned to face the only other person in the elevator.

Sensing several pairs of eyes on her, Abbie removed one of the fingers from her ears and stared back at the rest of her team. "What?"

"Why do you, y'know . . ." Jack mimed having a finger stuck in his left ear.

"Oh, that," Abbie removed the other finger. "I'm really sensitive to pressure. I have to stick something in my ears-"

Kinky." Jack smirked at Daniel, who just rolled his eyes.

"-to keep the pressure manageable or I won't be able to hear anything for the next week. Jack, you are one sick man." Abbie grinned at him. "It's a good thing you're hot for an old guy."

Sam took the all too rare moment of silence to catch Abbie up on what she might not have heard, going over their plan to keep Lalida from sending a team through the gate. "So, think you can help me disable the DHD?"

"It'll be easier then getting a bumper sticker on Jack's truck."

_bing_

"Well, let's hope so, because we've got one shot at this." Jack gripped his weapon, checking it to make sure the safety was off. . "Oh, and by the way, if you really want to get a sticker on my truck, can it at least read 'Caution: Not Just Weapons Hot'?" Just as the elevator doors opened, Abbie leaned to whisper in Daniel's ear ,"Wouldn't that be false advertising?"


	15. Plan B

_**Chapter 15 - Plan B**_

"GET DOWN!"

_Ok, that's definitely going to leave a bruise._ Abbie's thoughts probably should have remained at the task at hand, but she couldn't help herself. She and SG1 had made their way out of the lab and made the trek to the gate, keeping a pace that had even Sam show signs of wilting. But once the gate had finally come into view, Jack had ordered them to hit the dirt so the group attempting to dial out wouldn't get a lock on their location.

Jack pulled the binoculars away from his face. "Well, looks like their having some problems with the gate." He passed the vision devices to Teal'c. "Any ideas, kids?"

Sam nodded at her CO. "I loaded an experimental version of Felger's Avenger program to the MALP after our last check in with Weir. She had me develop it as a backup plan to be used when we couldn't cover the gate. I figured it might be useful to jam the DHD in case someone other than us was trying to get through."

Daniel gave Abbie back her binoculars. "And how long is it supposed to last? I mean, preventing them from dialing out."

"Well-"

Sam's answer was cut off by the sound of the inner ring of the gate starting to spin.

"I believe it is time for a plan, O'Neill." Teal'c brought the binoculars up to his eyes.

"Yes, it is." Jack studied his team. If anyone could develop a plan on the fly, it would be this group of exceptional soldiers and scholars.

"Nope."

"Sorry, sir."

"I am afraid not, O'Neill."

"How close can you get me to the DHD?"

The last comment wasn't what surprised O'Neill, rather it was the source. Doctor Webber had a look on her face that told Jack she was calculating something, but he couldn't quite tell what. He enjoyed having Doctor Webber on the team - she kept Teal'c almost smiling, gave Carter another women and scientist of sorts to talk to, and kept Daniel in line when she wasn't teasing the crap out of him. But she was sharp, and if she had a plan, it was worth a shot. "How close do you need Doctor?"

Abbie frowned and worked though the plan in her mind. "Close enough to dial the DHD."

Jack looked at Teal'c, Carter and Daniel who were keeping their eyes on the gate, all of whom could easily take part in his kicking butt portion of the plan. "That could be arranged."

Abbie nodded and hooked her thumb towards the gate. "Good. I need you to distract as much of the group down there as possible, but let Dorko over there capture me."

Daniel's head snapped up. "Captured? Abbie, what the-"

"Look, I don't have time to explain," Abbie cut Daniel off. "I just . . . I need you guys to trust that I know what I'm doing." She held Daniel's gaze, hoping that she looked as confident as she needed to be. Her plan was the best chance they had of stopping Lalida and her people from getting through the gate. She just hoped that it worked.

Daniel recognized the determined look. It usually meant he was wrong and she knew it, or she was about to do something he wasn't going to like. "Abbie, you can't risk yourself just because-"

"Risk is part of the job, Daniel you know that," Abbie replied in a quiet voice. "Besides, I've got SG1 to cover my six. I can't think of any better circumstances under which to take that risk."

Daniel looked to Jack, knowing that any decision that related in any way to open battle with another force fell squarely into his command. Jack shrugged and basically let Daniel know that it was his call. Jack had faith in his team - if an ambush was what Doctor Webber needed, an ambush he could provide.

Daniel heaved an internal sigh at the open and, in Teal'c's case, frank need to help Abbie that was clearly written on his teammate's faces. It seems that she had wiggled her way into the team dynamic and wasn't going anywhere but where she wanted to go. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Abbie's smile stretched from ear to ear.

xxxxxxx

Every successful covert military maneuver that Jack O'Neill had ever planed or participated in had hinged on two things - one, the ability to sneak up behind your enemy without their knowledge, and two, to use that knowledge to make some serious damage before anyone could figure out what was happening. Much to Jack's annoyance, Abbie had provided him with limited details regarding what exactly her plain entailed, but she gave him enough information to formulate a fairly decent ambush of the team of Ergonins who were preparing to gate their way to Madrona. Knowing that the sand could be used to their advantage as cover, he quickly outlined to the team his strategy to the team, with Teal'c and Carter both nodding with approval and pointing out the occasional spot for improvement. Once everyone understood their roles, Jack ordered radio silence, and motioned for each of them to move into place to wait for his signal.

Teal'c and Sam headed for the right side of the Stargate, settling into position behind one of the larger sand dunes just as Jack was doing the same on the left, leaving Daniel and Abbie to face the gate head on. Daniel kept one eye on Jack, waiting for the signal to move, and the other on Abbie, who's very calm exterior, was being shattered by a small tremor in her hands where she held the binoculars to her eyes. He crawled closer to her side in the sand, hoping to offer some silent comfort. Abbie lowered her hands when she felt the warmth of Daniel's body seep through her shirt and into her skin, managing to offer up a somewhat shaky smile as thanks. Just as Daniel opened his mouth to say something, a flash of light caught their eyes. Jack's signal. Abbie took a big breath. God I hope this works.

Three members of the Ergonin's off world party hit the dirt before Dorko knew anyone else was even at the gate, let alone was 'zating his team left and right. Jack, Sam and Teal'c slid down the dunes in record time, embodying the focus of the completely confident solider each of them had been trained to be. Daniel did his best to cover Abbie, but the few glances of her wielding the standard issue sidearm reminded him that she may be a civilian, but all of her training had been at the hands of one Special Ops trained Jack O'Neill, a man who made the safety of everyone who passed through the wormhole his personal business. He was just so used to seeing Abbie with a pencil in her hair and a book in her hand that the image of her actually training her weapon on other human beings startled his focus. So much so that, in the ensuing chaos as Dorko attempted to keep members of his team from falling victim to SG1's zat blasts, it was Daniel that ended up captured.

"Wait!" Abbie cried out, stopping the entire group in its tracks. Jack had his zat trained on a woman he had forced to the ground, looking like he was ready to fire. Sam and Teal'c had frozen mid step, weapons raised and ready, facing two men armed with the same crossbow type device Abbie and Daniel had been held hostage with at the beginning of this mission.

Dorko smirked, knowing that Abbie wouldn't risk the life of a teammate, especially not the one he currently had on his knees in the sand, stripped of his weapon and essentially defenseless. "It's no use. Lena, relive Abbie of her weapon and finish dialing the gate. They won't try anything as long as I have Daniel in my sights."

Lena gave a brief nod as she slipped out of Jack's range and carried out his orders, not even meeting Abbie's eyes as she removed the sidearm from Abbie's grasp.

Thinking fast, Abbie tried to appeal to Lena's hopeful nature. "Lena, you told me that it was your wish for this city be safe, and that your hope was that we could help you find the answers to saving your planet. We can do that, but nothing will be solved by you dialing the gate."

"Lalida is not trying to protect your city, Lena," Daniel picked up the story. "She wants to steal technology from another planet, from some very good friends of ours, and use it to attack the other city on this planet, called Erusm. We can't let that happen."

"There are other ways to regulate the land shifts underneath your city - we can help," Abbie insisted, watching Lena's face carefully for any sign of agreement or understanding. "But you can't let Lalida exploit another people for the sake of a war that only a select few even know is happening."

Lena's hand hesitated over the DHD. "How can that be true? There is no other city on the planet. And even if there were, the Keeper would never wage war against other humans - the Council would never stand for such violence."

"Really?" Jack was starting to get tired of this stand off, especially the part where over half of his team had weapons pointed at their heads. "Ask Dorko over there about the Ancient outpost that records data on how well their little earthquakes are killing people."

Lena turned to Dorko, her eyes begging for what she had just heard to be false.

Dorko's gaze darted from Lena to the DHD and back again, finally landing to rest on Abbie. She saw what he was about to do a split second before he moved, but knew there was nothing she could do to stop it in time.

The shot rang out over the sound of the wind rolling over the desert, echoing as Lena fell to the warm sand in front of the DHD, the sun catching the shine of metal of the arrow lodged in the young woman's chest. Abbie didn't know if the shout of protest had come from her or not, but she could hear the sound as it carried far across the empty desert. She found herself screwing up her eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"You will dial the gate for us, Abbie. Lena was the only one among us who had been trusted with the address, and she is no longer in a position to finish what she started," Dorko smirked as he waved his crossbow meaningfully at Daniel. Abbie met Daniel's gaze, her compassionate blue eyes shot with an uncharacteristic glint of hostility that told him in no uncertain terms she was no longer playing games.

He and the rest of SG1 watched as Abbie approached the DHD, careful not to disturb Lena's body, a fact she had to force out of her mind for the time being. She turned slightly to face Sam, and gestured to the Major's vest pocket. Sam experienced a moment of confusion until the intention of her friend's request hit her full force. Shooting a quick glance at Jack, she reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a small blue container, placing it into Abbie's outstretched hand.

Dorko's eyes lit up in cautious recognition. "Where did you get that?"

Abbie remained silent as she ignored the question, concentrating instead on unscrewing the container's cap and smearing the yellowish substance around the bright red dome that housed the main control crystal.

"What are you doing?" Panic laced Dorko's voice.

"Why don't you tell me." Abbie's voice was steady as she pulled her radio off her own vest, ripping the wires out of the main unit and stripping the rubber that covered the copper strands. She planted the bared wire firmly in the yellow clay, applying more of the substance on top to secure its place.

"That's the . . . that's the Power of the Gods! You can't seriously be thinking of using it-"

"I will not be responsible for the theft of a technology from one planet in order to wage a civil war on another. "Abbie cut off Dorko while she popped the cover off of the radio's battery. "So either you release Daniel and allow the rest of my team to return home," she brought the now exposed radio close to the wires embedded in the explosive substance, "or none of us will leave this planet alive."

Dorko gave an indignant but clearly threatened huff. "You'd be willing to sacrifice the lives of your teammates, and this man, whose life you swore to Lalida to protect over your own?"

Abbie took in the determined look on Jack and Sam's faces, the stoic but clear support of a fellow warrior written in every line on Teal'c's, and the complete trust in Daniel's eyes. "I would. And I know that each of them would do the same."

"You're insane!" Dorko exclaimed.

Abbie shrugged. "Maybe. But insane or not, it doesn't really matter. You've got a choice to make. What'll it be?"

Daniel saw the moment that Dorko knew he couldn't win, and he couldn't blame him. Abbie had him in a brilliant trap - one where there was only one choice, the one that she wanted him to make. Playing with the Power of the Gods was a dangerous risk, one that, even if it had been part of Abbie's original plan, was not taken the least bit in jest. Daniel fully believed that Abbie would follow through on her threat, and admired the strength it took for her to face off with this man who clearly had no problem killing one of his own.

"Du du du du, du du du. Du du du du DO, dadodododo, bah da bah ba du ba du ba . . ."

Abbie smiled at Jack. "No more Game Show Network for you."

Jack smirked back, turning to address Dorko. "I think your time is up. And I'd say, take option one, because she will blow this place to bits. She's good with explosives."

"Courtesy of CSIS," Abbie confirmed.

Jack managed to look surprised and impressed. "Really?"

Abbie tried to keep her face impassive. "We Canadians know how to party."

"Peace keepers with plastique." Jack nodded his approval. "Sweet."

Dorko let out a low grumble, resigned to the fact that he was not going to be stepping through the gate while the humans from Earth were on Ergonis. He gestured for the remaining members of his team to gather around him, placing a familiar blue, glowing object onto his own shirt. "My compliance has nothing to do with the agreements between our worlds, Abbie Webber. I am simply allowing you to return to your home under the threat of violence. Your own, in fact."

"Oh, I'm sure that agreement no longer exists," Daniel cheerfully affirmed. "Besides, you locked us in a cell upon our arrival - I'd say the first step towards violence was taken by you, not Abbie."

"I suggest you remove yourself from this location, the one they call Dorko." Teal'c took a step towards the DHD and the leader of Lalida's selected team. "AbbieWebber may be patient woman, but I fear it is a trait I see little use for."

Dorko had enough sense to take that as a cue to exit, pressing the button like object, causing the glow to burn bright on the chests of each of his teammates. As one, the group seemed to fold in on itself, and soon all that could be seen was the soft glow of the Ancient transport devices, the brilliant blue fading the higher the group traveled above the planet's sandy surface.

Daniel watched in fascination. "You were right, Abbie, they did fly." When he didn't get an immediate 'I told you so', Daniel twisted to catch his fellow linguists' eye, but was shocked to see only the open sand. Directing his gaze lower, he found Abbie, keeling next to the DHD, her hands twisted in her lap as she looked at Lena's still form. He sunk down into the warm sand beside her, slipping an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close to him to offer what comfort he could. She slowly acknowledged his presence, turning her face into his shoulder and drawing in slow, shuddering breaths.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c allowed the pair a moment, each reflecting on what should have been a simple research mission that had turned out to be something else entirely. Knowing that their time was limited, Jack pulled his sunglasses on from around his neck, adjusted his hat, and turned to his 2IC.

"Dial us home, Carter," Jack said softly.

* * *

**A/N: **Lovely reviews, people, I thank you for them.I'm thinking this is one of the last chapters, if not the second to last. I have the ending written, it just needs a bit of tweaking and then it should be ready. As always, thoughts and comments are welcome. 


	16. The Breakdown

**A/N (the first!): **Hello, everybody! I'm so sorry about the delay in update – life has a way of interfearing. Also? Everyone might want to check out Chapter 14 again – I had a small brain misfire and posted the wrong chapter. So if something seemed funny and you asked yourself if it was you, if you were on drugs, or if it was me, and if I were the one on drugs, the answers are No, I hope not, Yes, and Quite Possibly.

_**Chapter 16 - The Breakdown**_

"Unscheduled offworld activation."

Elizabeth Weir's head snapped up from the letter she was drafting on her laptop. She had barely been in command of the SGC for three months, but she had heard that phrase often enough for it to invoke a quick but sharp moment of panic. This time, as seemed to be the norm, her panic was being caused by SG1, who had negleced to check in at the 12 hour mark she had given Colonel O'Neill. In fact, not moments before, she had been on the phone with the leaders of SG's 3 and 8 to discuss a rescue mission, knowing that Colonel Reynolds wouldn't trust anyone else to bring SG1 back safely. If anyting else during her short tenure at the SGC, she had also learned that these people took care of their own. Saving her letter, Elizabeth made her way down the stairs and into the control room, making a bee line for Sergeant Harriman. _Or was it Davis?_ She could never remember.

"Walter?"

The Sergent turned slightly in his chair to address her. "No IDC yet, Ma'am."

Weir nodded, resisting the urge to twist her hands in concern.

A minute later, Walter spoke up again. "It's SG-1."

"Open the gate." The words were flung over her shoulders as she hurried down into the gate room.

She was greeted by the soft thud of combat boots on the metal ramp as Daniel and Abbie followed Sam and Teal'c through the gate, Jack last as usual. The grim looks on the faces of the SGC's premier team told her in an instant that something had gone very wrong.

"Welcome back, SG1." Elizabeth kept her voice level, noting the tension in Abbie's shoulders and the way Daniel had one hand on her arm, as if to steady her from falling.

"Thanks, Doctor. Good to be back." The humour had all but drained out of Jack's voice, his movements swift and calculated to convey nonchalance while doing anything but.

Weir nodded, acknowledging Jack's unspoken concern. "I think the best thing right now would be for everyone to hit the showers. We can debrief at 17:00."

Daniel's focus remained on Abbie as Teal'c and Jack followed Dr. Weir out of the gate room, both men eager for some time alone to think through the events of what started as a simple recon mission. Sam hesitated, recognizing the concerned look on Daniel's face and wondering how long it had been since she had seen him care so deeply for someone other than a member of SG1. "Daniel?" She called softly.

Sam's voice shook Daniel out of his thoughts, and he managed a small smiled as he faced his teammate. "I'm fine, Sam." He gave Abbie's arm a little squeeze. "You OK?"

Abbie shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But right now, a shower and a change of clothes sounds like a good idea." She absently placed her hand over Daniel's and started to walk down the ramp, Sam at her other side. "Maybe Sam can point me in the direction of the blue BDU's, since SG1 seems to hide them from the rest of the base."

Sam smiled as they reached the corridor, reaching up to her vest to unclip her P-90. "Looks like we're busted, Daniel."

"I can live with that, " Daniel agreed.

"Of course you can," Sam stopped at the door of the women's locker room and turned to face her teammate. "You just don't want the male population of this base chasing after her in those silk pj's."

Daniel grinned. "Maybe that too." Abbie smacked him lightly on the arm. "See you in the conference room, then?"

Abbie grasped the handle to the locker room door and pushed it open. "Minus one pair of shiny pajamas? Absolutely." She gave Daniel the best smile she could muster and followed Sam into the locker room.

Daniel watched as the door closed shut, wishing that he could think of something else to do that could help. Abbie didn't sign on for earthquakes and explosives, and he felt responsible and more than a little guilty for requesting her help. His exhausted mind overruled his guilt and propelled his body towards the men's locker room, knowing that after a shower and maybe something to eat, the events of what should have been a strictly academic mission may not look quite so grim. _This is going to be one hell of a briefing._

xxxxxxx

When Abbie entered the briefing room after a long, hot shower and a much needed wardrobe change, she was surprised to see that she was the last to arrive. She took a look at her watch.

"You're not late, Doctor Webber," Elizabeth reassured her. "Please, have a seat."

Abbie navigated the maze of chairs, settling into the uncharacteristically empty seat beside Daniel, across the table from Sam and Jack. Teal'c, who had taken the chair opposite of Dr. Weir at the foot of the table, returned Abbie's nod of thanks.

"Doctor Webber, if you need some more time to-"

"Doctor Weir, I'm fine," Abbie interrupted what felt like Elizabeth's millionth attempt to offer her more time to rest after the mission to P3X-459. "Besides," Abbie's eyes dropped to the shiny surface of the briefing room table, "I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."

Dr. Weir nodded, surveying the room with a practiced eye. "Well then, I've already read Colonel O'Neill's and Major Carter's preliminary reports, but I have a feeling that they end well before things got interesting."

Jack cleared his throat. "That's one way of putting it."

Elizabeth raised one eyebrow. "Care to explain further?"

Sam leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the table. "Well, as you know Dr. Weir, we lost contact with Daniel and Abbie when they went to call in for our scheduled check in to the SGC. We were able to locate them using a program I wrote for the UAV that searched the planet for Abbie's blue hat."

"Blue pimp hat," Jack corrected.

Elizabeth concealed a smile. "Please continue, Major."

"Yes, well, once we had retrieved the hat, Daniel arranged for us to enter a city, run by a woman named Lalida."

Daniel felt Abbie tense at the name, and thought it was as good a time as any to help Sam. "Lalida was what the people who captured us called The Keeper. She was our first contact with the government of Ergonis, the city that they built once the Ancients had left the planet."

"Ancients?" Elizabeth asked. "There was no mention of any Ancients actually living on P3X-459 for any period of time."

Daniel nodded in confirmation. "Once Abbie and I were able to gain access to the domed structure, we discovered that substantial amounts of planetary data, including seismic activity, was being recorded and had initially been part of the Ancients' experiments on the Power of the Gods." Daniel looked to Abbie. "We later learned that Lalida and her people had rerouted the information to themselves after the Ancients left Ergonis."

Elizabeth saw the glance that passed between the two anthropologists. "For what purpose?"

"To start a civil war." Abbie's voice was blunt as she added her narrative to the story. "Lalida and her people had been engaged in what we later discovered was the losing side of a massive battle. It had turned somewhat in their favour with the discovery of the Ancients' research."

"How so?"

"Colonel O'Neill discovered a book in their facility for holding mass volumes of written documentation," Teal'c answered Dr. Weir. "DanielJackson translated its contents and determined that it contained details of a war being waged beneath the surface of the planet."

Sam continued the explanation. "The Ergonins discovered that the earthquakes excited the explosive nature of the Power of the Gods."

Elizabeth nodded. "And what exactly is the Power of the Gods?" She looked to Colonel O'Neill, figuring that if something had blown up, he had been behind it.

She was surprised when Jack gave a small shake of his head, then leveled his gaze at Abbie.

"Doctor Webber?" Elizabeth prompted gently.

Abbie drew in a breath. "Lalida informed me that we would be allowed to bring a sample of the Power of the Gods back to Earth for our own study. Lalida took Sam and I underground to their labs, where she gave us the sample. It was then that we experienced an earthquake." She paused, unsure of what to explain next.

"It was a fairly significant earthquake, one that had obviously worried Lalida," Sam filled in, recognizing Abbie's hesitance. "Abbie figured out pretty quickly that we weren't being told something about the planet, something important. It was then that Lalida informed us that our 'help' was no longer needed." Sam's voice was filled with disgust.

Abbie snorted. "Which became rather obvious when she locked us in the lab with two armed guards."

"It turns out that Lalida and her people had read the mission reports we provided to them as part of the diplomatic exchange," Daniel adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "Apparently, they were particularly interested in PX7-941."

Elizabeth racked her brain for the planet designation.

"Madrona." Jack supplied. "They were after the Touchstone, figured it would help them take control of the quakes. They sent a team to the Stargate."

"And you stepped in to stop them," Dr. Weir guessed. She knew SG1, and they were not ones to take lightly to attacks on other planets, especially ones they had helped to establish relations. "What happened, exactly?"

The four members of SG1 remained silent. None really wanted to explain that a borrowed member of their own team had almost blown them all to hell. Mostly because none of them were altogether sure what had actually happened.

Abbie drew in a slow breath, knowing that the rest of this mission was hers to explain. "We reached the Stargate a few minutes before Lalida's team dialed Madrona's address, their progress having been delayed by Sam's version of the Avenger virus." Abbie paused to smile at Sam. "Their team was being lead by Dorko, the man who originally captured Daniel and me and took us to Ergonis. We knew he wouldn't just stop and go back to the city without a fight, so thanks to one Special Ops trained Colonel, most of his team was incapacitated not long after Avenger deactivated."

"Not all of them, though?" Elizabeth was starting to see how the mission had gone.

Abbie shook her head, her eyes fixed on her hands, tightly clasp on top of the shiny wood surface of the table. "The plan was for Dorko to get hold of me, but things didn't quite work out that way. He ended up taking Daniel instead." She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the fear that had danced down her spine when Daniel was kneeling in the sand, a weapon trained on the back of his neck. "Dorko ordered Lena to relieve me of my sidearm and to finish dialing the gate."

"Lena was the one who got Abbie those snazzy pajamas," Jack interjected.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Please, Doctor Webber, continue."

Abbie opened her eyes and nodded. "Lena and I had talked earlier, she seemed to be a bright young woman who believed that my presence on Ergonis would set the planet right again, before the earthquakes had spun out of their control. I tried to explain it to her, to convince her that Lena and Dorko were not venturing out into the galaxy out of a sudden urge to explore, that they were actually trying to save their own city to the detriment of another." Abbie allowed a shadow of a smile to grace her lips. "Apparently, she was the only one I convinced."

Abbie picked her gaze up off of the table, watching as Daniel placed a glass of water in front of her with a small smile. She took a grateful sip before continuing. "Dorko shot Lena when she wouldn't finish dialing the gate." She explained bluntly. "He threatened to do the same to Daniel if I did not finish the dialing sequence for him. Neither were part of my original plan."

"You sure?" Jack asked. "Because it certainly seemed like blowing us all up was part of the original plan."

"From what we saw the Power of the Gods is a clay-like substance that reacts rather explosively to an electrical charge." Sam reluctantly filled in at Elizabeth's questioning look. "Much like C4 or plastique. Abbie used our sample to hold the DHD hostage and forced Dorko to retreat."

A smirk appeared on Abbie's face completely without her permission.

* * *

**A/N (the second!):** This chapter is half of the original last chapter – it was way too long and I wanted to tweak it a bit before I finished it. So please, read and enjoy this chapter, and I'll get the last one up and running soon! 


	17. Sunscreen is Synonymous

**_Chapter 17 – Sunscreen is Synonymous_**

Jack did a double take. "Ok, what was that all about?"

"What was what all about, Jack?" Abbie's voice was innocent. A little too innocent by her calculations, but she knew Jack wouldn't be fooled by it either way.

"That little smirky thing there." He turned to Daniel. "Did you know she did the smirky thing?"

Daniel regarded his fellow anthropologist, a woman he could admit he cared for in what he just started to admit was more than a professional capacity.This conversation was only delaying what he knew was weighing on her mind the most – the guilt of Lena's death. But he decided to play along, at least for the time being. "Of course, Jack. Teal'c taught her."

Sam snorted and was rewarded with the death glare from her CO. "Sorry, sir. But in all seriousness, Abbie, we all thought you were about to give us a live demonstration of just how destructive the Power of the Gods could be."

"You almost sent us straight to Oma-land." Jack looked to the rest of his team for confirmation. "You guys saw that, right??"

Abbie shrugged her shoulders. "If that's what it looked like . . ." She let the rest of the sentence trail off.

It suddenly struck Daniel as odd. Not just the briefing, because, let's face it, those always tended to be a little surreal. But it was odd that Abbie's instinct in a situation like that was to reach for the explosives and threaten other human beings with the loss of life. She had worked how many years at the UN, and yet she hadn't tried to negotiate, to offer some other technology in exchanged for his life and the safety of the people of Madrona. _She wouldn't have taken that kind of risk, no matter how calculated_ Daniel thought absently to himself.

"Doctor Jackson?" Elizabeth's voice pierced his little thought bubble. "Something on your mind?"

"Yes, actually." Daniel leaned forward, forearms resting on the shiny hardwood surface. "Did you have something else in your pocket?"

Abbie wiggled slightly in her chair, digging something out of her left pocket. She placed it on the table and slid it across, Jack catching it neatly in his hand.

Sam's eyes widened as O'Neill lifted the small blue container up to the light. "Abbie, but that's-"

"A tube of cream that Janet gave me when I returned from P4X-295." She gestured to the container as Jack passed it to Elizabeth, who unscrewed the cap and was greeted by a tiny smear of a yellowish cream. "It's really good for sunburns and, apparently, as a stand in for an extremely explosive clay like substance."

The pieces fell into place as Elizabeth passed the container to Daniel. "This is what you put on the DHD, isn't it?" he asked, marveling at the quick thinking of the woman to his right.

Abbie just shrugged again, this time to distract from the blush Daniel's admiring tone had set off. "We all knew Dorko wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box. That's why I didn't explain my plan to all of you. I had to make sure all of you believed I would really destroy the DHD and all of us with it. Had you known it was fake, it might not have worked so well."

"And where is the actual sample of the Power of the Gods?" Elizabeth asked.

"I dropped it off with Doctor Lee before I made my way here for the briefing." Abbie took the offered cream back from Daniel. "He seemed pretty excited about how it would react with some of that powdered naquadah – a kind of one two explosive punch, he called it."

Dr. Weir managed to look only mildly alarmed. "Major Carter, I think you might want to drop in and give Doctor Lee a hand with that after the briefing."

"Yes, ma'am." Sam whole-heartedly agreed. She was still picking pieces of confetti from her laptop from the last time Dr. Lee had tested the range of a mountain wide airborne attack.

Elizabeth straightened up in her chair. "Well, I can certainly agree that this mission was more. . . interesting than originally anticipated." She tented her fingers on the table. "And from what I've just heard, I doubt that we would be welcome on Ergonis a second time."

"About as welcome as Teal'c at a Star Wars convention." Jack confirmed.

Abbie shot him a look.

"What?" Jack managed to look insulted. "He's really good with a lightsaber."

"Then I think there's little else to discuss." She pushed back from the table, ready to stand up and leave. "Despite the potential the Power of the Gods may have, it's not worth the men and woman of this institution being dragged into a civil war. I'll have Walter lock the address from the dialing computer. Congratulations on making it home in one piece. Dismissed." With that, she rose from her chair and retreated into the silence of her office, finally relaxed in the knowledge that all of her teams were safely home.

Everyone remained seated despite the formal dismissal. It was clear to the four original member of SG1 that their borrowed teammate was still struggling with the events that had taken place. Teal'c, having said very little during the actual briefing, saw the opportunity to convey to Abbie how her choices had been the only true course of action. "You did well today, AbbieWebber."

Abbie snorted softly. "I'm afraid it doesn't feel that way, Teal'c."

He rose from his chair, and stood behind Abbie. He placed a large hand on her shoulder, the warmth seeping through her BDU jacket. "It is in fact due to you, AbbieWebber that we have arrived safely back to this planet. Had it not been for your ultraviolet blocking lotion, we may not have been able to return to the SGC without considerable harm." Teal'c stepped around her chair and turned to Abbie, giving her a bow that she returned with the drop of her head, embarrassment mixed in with the other emotions that were threatening to overtake her calm demeanor.

"Maybe so, Teal'c. But a young woman was shot and died today, because of me."

"Not your fault, Doctor," Jack said immediately. "Dorko had a choice – no one but him could have pulled that trigger."

"And if there is anything I've learned over the years, is that you can only help those people who want to be helped," Daniel pointed out. "You have to learn to let go of those 'What if's'."

"That might be a little harder for me. The biggest decision I'm usually faced with is whether or not I should let Lt. Foley carry my sample kit." Abbie locked her eyes on Daniel's. "The potential fate of a planet based solely on my actions might be a little harder to shake."

Sam nodded her agreement. "But it will get easier."

"We will make sure it does, DoctorWebber." Teal'c promised. "I will make sure of it."

Abbie smiled softly. "Thank you."

"Hope you'll join us on other missions, Doctor – you're a quick thinker. We could use that when Daniel's busy talkin' to the natives." Jack wiggled his eyebrows at his teammate. "Or busy being unconscious."

"How could I possibly refuse an offer like that, Jack?" Abbie laughed as the lines on Daniel's forehead deepened.

Sam grinned. "I think that's the point."

Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed."

"Well then, time for a snack," Jack announced as he pushed away from the table. "Who wants pie?"

"I would very much like to experience this rhubarb pie, O'Neill," Teal'c explained as Carter stood up and the three made their way out of the briefing room. "Major Carter informs me that it is far superior to apple."

"She would."

"Sir!"

Abbie laughed as their argument could be heard down the stairs to the main control room. When their voices faded into the background, she turned her chair to face the man that she believed had been responsible for keeping her sane. Not that she would admit that out loud.

"So, Sam told me you two were going out tonight?" Daniel asked, guessing correctly that it was time to leave the mission in the past.

"Yeah, she thinks I need a night to just 'Let loose'", Abbie raised her hand in air quotes. "Personally, I think she just wants an excuse to go to Mardigras."

"Really?" Daniel's eyebrow threatened to hit the ceiling. "You know why, right?"

Abbie sighed. "Yeah. She wants me to hold her drink and her purse while she hits on the new Air Force recruits."

"I was going to say so you could drive her home, but. . . " Daniel shook his head and smiled. "You think you know a person."

"True." For a moment, her expression grew serious. "Are your missions normally this," She searched for the right word, "eventful?"

Daniel leaned forward so that their foreheads were almost touching. "Not usually. But we're home, we're safe, and we managed to keep something very bad from happening."

"A win, then?"

"A win."

Abbie slowly nodded, rolling the idea around in her head. "I can live with that."

"Good." Daniel gave her a devastating grin that she was positive had started to unwind her DNA. "Because now you're going to have to write an official report that explains how sunscreen saved our lives."

Abbie groaned. "What's a synonym for 'purposely mislead'?"

"Ask Teal'c."

* * *

**A/N: **Done! Woo! Thanks so much for sticking around and following along with my little story. Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to review! You are all more awesome than I can possibly put into words. So, to you:

**katejones2005, Krazyalien, nogigglingmajor, SGCFan4ever, TaciteMuse, Romulus Magnus, SG-Fan, scottiedog, starjems88, Three Faces Of Eve, Aedammair, E. Nagrom, Oma-1, USDA-Certified Organic, KaeKaeD, and Thraesja**

Thanks to all! And an extra _**Thanks!**_ goes out to **Desert Blossom-by-the-Sea**, the Beta who knows when to capitalize, when to grammerize, when to let the Alright go, and when to run around the block to let off a little DJ induced steam.

I'm hoping for more stories to follow with Abbie – I've had an idea or two for a follow up to _**Dinner & Dessert**_ and I'm hoping to get a good start on that before school begins again. Famous last words. . . :) But please, continue to read and review – always makes my day!


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